‘It’s terrible’: Water levels at Elephant Butte Lake reaching near 55-year lows

‘It’s terrible’: Water levels at Elephant Butte Lake reaching near 55-year lows Elephant Butte looks a lot different this summer. ELEPHANT BUTTE, N.M. – Elephant Butte Reservoir could fall to 15,000 to 25,000 acre-feet, about 1% of capacity, by the end of July, which would exceed a 55 year low. Exposed shorelines have become a common sight at the lake, and crews plan to remove debris through the fall from the water levels dropping. The water level at Elephant Butte Lake now sits at 32,000 acre-feet or 1.6% of capacity. In 1971, the water level dropped to 30,600 acre-feet. Officials from the Bureau of Reclemation said irrigation releases are set to end at the end of July. They project the lake will drop to 15,000 to 25,000 acre-feet, or about 1% of capacity, after those releases stop. The falling water levels have been a source of frustration for Nick Jernigan, owner of Pirate’s Cove Boat and RV Storage. “It’s terrible, it’s the worst I’ve ever seen it, it’s the lowest I’ve ever seen it, people are tearing their boats up, their props up,” said Nick Jernigan. Jernigan said he wants officials to put more rules on releasing water from the lake. “The farmers need the water in Hatch and stuff for the Green Chile and stuff, but right now they’re not going to have any water,” said Jernigan. At Marina Del Sur, Josh Koch and his crew have been busy moving the marina to keep up with the falling water levels. Koch estimated crews have moved it up to seven times this year. “Probably like once a week we have to move the anchors, push the marina out,” said Koch. Koch said he has reassured some boat owners that their boats are safe at the marina. He also said he understands why water moves downstream to farmers. “I understand some people get frustrated because we do use it as a recreation lake now,” said Koch. “But even when it’s this low you can still use it as a recreational lake, it still serves its purpose down south and you still can come out and have a good time,” said Koch. John Irizarry, acting manager of the Bureau of Reclamation’s Albuquerque Area Office, said the low water reflects a long drought across the Southwest. “The amount of stored water at Bureau of Reclamation-managed reservoirs across New Mexico is at a record low due to the ongoing megadrought across the southwestern United States which is now in its third decade,” said Irizarry in a statement. Irizarry said Elephant Butte Dam can operate safely at low reservoir levels and monitoring shows no safety concerns. Irrigation releases started at the end of May when the lake was at 208,000 acre-feet. The first releases went to farmers in New Mexico, Texas and Mexico, and the current outflow is supplying irrigation water in Texas because the El Paso County Water Improvement District is calling for water. Those requests are expected to end at the end of July. The lake likely will not reach its all-time record low from 1954, when it sat at about half a percent of capacity. The post ‘It’s terrible’: Water levels at Elephant Butte Lake reaching near 55-year lows appeared first on KOB 4 .