Elephant Butte Irrigation District has approved the following projects for the new budget year, beginning November 1st, 2023. All projects focus on upgrades to existing infrastructure, improvement of water delivery efficiency, and improvement of RTU water delivery monitoring.
EBID has been awarded a Bureau of Reclamation WaterSmart grant which responds to drought in this region through implementing key priority projects that develop and modernize its infrastructure to facilitate watershed-scale flow management, stormwater capture, and aquifer recharge. Accurate storm monitoring is dependent on an extensive network of weather stations and rain gauges strategically placed in key watershed regions. The primary focus of our proposal is the expansion and improvement of our storm monitoring network comprised of five priority projects including:
This project is comprised of two components that entail modifying existing canal systems. The first component of the project, modernizing the California Lateral and Extension, involves piping the California Lateral from Wasteway 13 to 7,580 feet upstream and piping the California Extension from the heading to 5,960 feet downstream. Modernizing the California Lateral and Extension also includes installing three lift pumps at Wasteway 13 that will pump from the Rio Grande through plastic irrigation piping to be discharged farther upstream back into the California Lateral and into an adjoining farmer’s ditch. This component will mitigate the classical problem of tail-end deliveries by creating a new delivery point to make direct diversion-to-delivery to the current tail-ender farmers.
The second component of this project, Revitalizing the Three Saints Main Canal at Wasteway 19, involves installing three lift pumps at Wasteway 19 that will pump from the Rio Grande through plastic irrigation pipe to be discharged back into the Three Saints Main Canal and into an adjoining farmer’s existing piped irrigation system. The piping of the California Lateral and California Extension will reduce seepage, improve delivery to constituent farmers, allow bidirectional flow in laterals, and improve on-farm efficiencies. The pumping systems for both components of this project will reduce the conveyance transportation time and conveyance losses required for delivery to these important parts of the Mesilla Valley leaving the water in the Rio Grande rather than through long reaches of unlined earthen canals. These water conservation measures are crucial during these times of ongoing drought in this region of New Mexico and ongoing climate change worldwide.
EBID has been awarded a Bureau of Reclamation Small-Scale Water Efficiency grant aimed at improving water delivery efficiency at the Leasburg Canal delivery point. As part of this project, EBID will reshape approximately 1.2 miles of canal between the Arguelles Check structure and Lucero Check structure. Additionally, both Arguelles radial gates will be automated to maintain a constant upstream water level, a 30 foot concrete lining will be installed approximately 750 feet downstream of the Arguelles Check, which will support a new metering bridge, stilling well, and acoustic doppler velocity meter to improve monitoring and delivery efficiency.
A new distribution box was constructed on the Palmer Lateral featuring one turnout and allowing for a farm irrigation well to pump into the lateral. The box was completed during the winter of 2023-2024.
The heading turnout gate and headwall were replaced on the Silva Lateral. The new structure consists of small concrete box and new turnout frame. The heading was completed during the winter of 2023-2024.
A new check structure was constructed for the Rincon Main A Check site.
The Salem Check radial gate on the Garfield Main Canal has been replaced. The new radial gate was built by EBID's Fabrication Shop and installed during the 2024 maintenance season.
Due to a pipe failure, the Las Cruces Lateral / Tortugas Arroyo 48 inch pipe was replaced during the 2024 maintenance season.
The Engineering Department is working with the City of Las Cruces, overseeing the piping project of the Armijo Lateral.
A-Mountain Construction is the awarded contractor doing the work, while this project is funded and owned by the City of Las Cruces.
A new radial gate for the East Side Canal has been fabricated by our Fabrication Shop as per Engineering design. The Eastside Gate will be installed prior to the start of the 2024 irrigation season.
The Westside / La Mesa Spur Drain crossing was replaced during the 2024 maintenance season. The original culvert crossing failed, causing a ditch break.
EBID installed a new Franco culvert crossing in unit 4B.
The La Union West metering bridge, just below the heading, was modified to include a 24-inch stilling well and protective box enclosure for a Type-F paper chart. The site also included a small expanded metal walkway to access the chart stilling well.
The Mitchell Lateral had the culvert replaced during the 2024 maintenance season.
EBID has installed a new ditch flume crossing for DeRuyter Farms, extending the turnout ditch across the drain. The 24-inch corrugated pipe was installed during maintenance season 2024.
530 S. Melendres
Las Cruces, NM 88005
575-526-6671
Monday - Friday 7:30 to 4:30
