Mark Garcia is witnessing the abundance of water in the Rio Grande this year as it flows past his farm in central New Mexico, just 50 miles south of Albuquerque. After years of drought, the rush of springtime water is a welcome relief, but Garcia knows that this temporary respite won’t last. As the summer progresses, the river will diminish, leaving him with strict water rationing. He will only be allowed irrigation water for his 300 acres once every 30 days, which is insufficient to support his crop of oats and alfalfa.
For decades, Garcia and other farmers along the Rio Grande have depended on water released from the El Vado dam to sustain their crops during dry periods. However, the dam has been out of commission for the past three summers, with its structure deteriorating due to years of operation, and there is no plan in place to fix it.
The failure of the dam has disrupted the water supply for the entire region, affecting both farmers and the city of Albuquerque, which relies on the dam for running water. Without the ability to collect irrigation water from El Vado, farmers and city residents face water shortages and rely on finite groundwater sources.
The situation highlights the challenges of sustainable water management in the face of climate change. The Biden administration is providing grants to support water infrastructure projects in water-stressed rural areas, but the ongoing megadrought in the West poses a significant challenge.
The Bureau of Reclamation, which manages the dam, is struggling to find a solution to repair El Vado and restore water supplies to Albuquerque. While alternative reservoirs exist, repurposing them for irrigation water will require a lengthy bureaucratic process.
In the meantime, farmers like Garcia are growing increasingly frustrated with the delays in the repair process. The uncertainty about long-term water availability is causing economic hardship for farmers and threatening the water resilience of the entire region.
