Water Issues Facing Farmers and Ranchers in the Pecos Valley of New Mexico

 

In mid-April, class 15 traveled to Artesia, NM to visit with several professionals tied to agriculture and natural resource development in the region.  One of the topics covered was water issues facing farmers and ranchers that live in the Pecos Valley.  Mr. Aron Balok, superintendent of the Pecos Valley Artesian Conservancy District (PVACD) spoke on the subject.   Established in 1931, the PVACD is funded through mill levies. The mission of the PVACD is to monitor water use in the region, while navigating regulations that impact the waters that travel through the district.  Its board of directors is made up of local citizens, farmers, ranchers, and oil and gas personnel that all provide input to Mr. Balok.  It is then his job to ensure all obligations are met as effectively as possible.

Water is vital to support both agriculture and oil production in this very productive area of New Mexico.  The battle over water between industries and even between states makes use regulation very challenging. The state office of engineers oversees use allocation across the state.  The state as a whole must remain compliant with policies that ensure enough water is passed on to Texas, while still leaving enough for those who own water rights for beneficial use here in New Mexico. Since this district is the last “stop” of water flow out of New Mexico into Texas, it is imperative the area stays within their water allotments. In order to meet this obligation, the PVACD plays a vital role in monitoring use through an extensive metering program.  Under the guidance of Mr. Balok, the PVACD has made great strides to make sure the aquifer below and the surface water above remain at adequate levels for use, while improving on water conservation.

 
Though this conversation revolved around the regulatory efforts of water management, I have a personal interest in water use by wildlife and livestock.  My research focuses on water utilization and water quality in New Mexico.  These are very complicated issues that have become a priority in the last 20 years, as water security is at a real risk for the state and region.  


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Image
   My name is Marcy Ward and I am the Extension Livestock Specialist for New Mexico State University.  I take great pride in being a part of agriculture in New Mexico.  I get to do something different everyday related to livestock production across the state.  I see the benefits and challenges of ranching in New Mexico.  Part of my role is to provide producers guidance in herd and natural resource management.  I also must serve in leadership and supervisory roles for several programs we provide across the state. This year I joined a select few to be a part of the Agriculture Leadership Program to improve my leadership skills.  This program will take us across the state to network with individuals from all different kinds of industries.  Policy makers can have a huge influence on the day to day lives of agricultural producers.  Therefore the group will also travel to Santa Fe, NM (state capital) and to Washington D.C. to meet with lobbyists and legislators.   One of the highlights of th
Read more

NMAL Class Goes to Washington!

Image
  Just before the cherry blossoms were in full bloom, myself along with the rest of the NMAL class 15 group traveled to Washington D.C.   The group got a good introduction of government leadership in February with a trip to our state capital in Sante Fe, NM.   However, we took things to the highest level with the trip to D.C. My family had had some personal experience with how D.C. worked from a bureaucratic vantage point years ago.   My father had been appointed by President Ronald Regan to be the Director of the Office of Service Mining within the Department of Interior. One goal for me with this trip was to see how things may have changed from an adult perspective.   The visit made me realized how even more layers have been added through either policy or regulation, just to get something done.   I know this was my father’s primary frustration in his short tenure in D.C. By their own admission, these policies and regulations have slowed progress significantly.   Either through
Read more

NMAL Goes to the United Kingdom!

Image
  This year, class 15 participated in the New Mexico Agricultural Innovation and Trade Mission trip to England and Scotland in late June. The international trip is everyone’s highlight of the NMAL program.   It gives members of the class an opportunity to gain a new perspective about global agriculture.   My primary goal of this trip was to learn more about their livestock systems, marketing, and management.   Our first two days were visiting with members of the US Embassy in London, the United Kingdom's department of Ag, and a member of parliament. On day three we traveled out to the country to visit with a variety of farms.  The first was Cragend Farm whose focus will be agri tourism and rare livestock breed preservation.  To conclude the day we visited with a commercial producer.  Their perspectives on agriculture we fairly different.  The first was more idealistic with profit from their animals as low priority and the other more pragmatic and production oriented.  By the end
Read more