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CORRALES 鈥� Corrales farmers experiencing a dry start to the year now have less water to use for the foreseeable future.

The Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District (MRGCD) has suspended irrigation deliveries to the village.

The deliveries rely on temporary pumping operations that lift water from the Rio Grande into the Corrales main canal. These pumps require sufficient river levels to function. When river levels fall below operational limits, pumping must be suspended and deliveries halted, a MRGCD news release states.

Mike Hamman, Corrales Farmers鈥� Cooperative vice president, said residents were 鈥渘ot surprised, just disappointed鈥� by the district鈥檚 decision, which came down in late April.

鈥淲e all knew this is going to be a really, really poor water year,鈥� he said. 

The stoppage was due to the low amount of snowpack that came and March鈥檚 high temperatures that 鈥渃aused what snowpack there was to come off the mountains and show up in the river earlier than expected,鈥� said Anne Marken, MRGCD river operations and telemetry manager.

鈥淎nd so, right now, the only water that鈥檚 available in the river is what the basin is kind of naturally producing and we鈥檝e seen most of the snow already melt off the mountains,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e not seeing a lot of water come into the middle valley right now.鈥�

Corrales farmer John Lopez said in a phone interview that without water, 鈥淚 can鈥檛 irrigate.鈥�

鈥淢y growing season for alfalfa is over,鈥� she said. 鈥淚鈥檓 having to buy alfalfa. I鈥檓 having to buy feed for my animals because I can鈥檛 raise the feed.鈥�

Farmers like Russell Trujillo and his daughter Ysabela Trujillo are finding ways to adapt.

Russell Trujillo said they are doing drip irrigation to feed their crops. Drip irrigation is the slow application of water through emitters or tiny holes spaced along polyethylene tubing or tape, . 

鈥淚t鈥檚 really important that we are continuing to farm here in Corrales because we want to provide this source of food for our community, for families, for everyone that we can reach out to because the food system is pretty fragile at times, especially with all these E. coli breaks and these whatever,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd small farmers have the opportunity to (provide food) at a more sanitary level and provide food that is very high nutritionally.鈥�

鈥榊ou need that river to irrigate鈥�

Historically, Corrales received well water from the district鈥檚 diversion dam, north of Bernalillo. The water then went to the Corrales main canal where a siphon, or a pipe, that goes underneath the river, 鈥渁nd take(s) water from the east side of the river and send(s) it to the west side where Corrales is,鈥� Marken said.

鈥淚n 2022, that siphon collapsed and was no longer safe for us to send water under the river to Corrales and so we had to install some pumps,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 like a temporary pumping operation where instead of diverting far up north 鈥� we actually are pumping water from the river into the Corrales service area where we would historically have moved it through our system.鈥�

The problem with the pumping operation is that in order for the pumps to work, there must be a minimum amount of water in the river for the pumps to take that water to Corrales, Marken said.

River flow was about 430 cubic feet per second the day the pump shut down, MRGCD spokesperson Amanda Molina said in an email.

鈥淲hen releases from Cochiti drop below about 500 cubic feet per second, we start to see impacts to the Corrales pumps,鈥� she said. 鈥�It鈥檚 really more about the level of the water in the river than the flow number itself 鈥� when flows drop, the river level drops with it. We visually monitor the water level and compare it to a fixed reference point on the pump structures. When the water level approaches that mark, we know the pumps are at risk of becoming inoperable.鈥�

As of Wednesday, the Rio Grande in sa国际传媒官网网页入口 was 2.3 feet high, which is well below normal, said Michael Anand, National Weather Service of sa国际传媒官网网页入口 meteorologist.

As long as the Rio Grande stays as low as it is, Marken said, the pumps will remain shut off.

鈥淚f we see flows get up high enough then we can turn the pumps back on,鈥� she said. 鈥淪o one thing we鈥檙e telling Corrales, actually all irrigators, is 鈥榯o be prepared to take water on very short notice, just in case we鈥檙e able to turn them on when there鈥檚 a rain event.鈥欌��

As everyone waits for the rain, the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District is working on a new siphon that should be done by the end of the year, Molina said.

鈥淭he new ($7.7 million) siphon will improve the efficiency of water delivery to the Corrales area and restore gravity-fed flow from the sa国际传媒官网网页入口 Main Canal to the Corrales Main Canal, eliminating reliance on a mechanical system that can be prone to operational issues,鈥� she said. 鈥淗owever, the siphon will still depend on sufficient upstream water supply to function; it facilitates conveyance but does not generate additional water.鈥�

Farmers like Lopez are hopeful, but doubtful, they will see enough rain during the upcoming monsoon season to get them through the year.

According to the National Weather Service, the likelihood of an above average monsoon season is 40%-50%.

鈥淵ou need that river water to irrigate,鈥� Lopez said. 鈥淲ithout that, you know, there isn鈥檛 anything coming up.鈥�

Gregory R.C. Hasman is a general assignment reporter and the Road Warrior. He can be reached at ghasman@abqjournal.com or 505-823-3820.