Introduction

The purpose of this site is to provide information on the Eastern New Mexico Water Utility Authority (ENMWUA) Project to build a seventy (70) mile water pipeline from Clovis, New Mexico to Ute Lake in Quay County, New Mexico near Logan.  In the summer of 2022 ENMWUA estimated the cost of completing the pipeline project would be approximately $800 million dollars [1]

It is the author’s position that as a result of the severe drought being experienced in the southwest ENMWUA is about to waste hundreds of millions of dollars building a pipeline to Ute Lake which is not a sustainable water resource.  Instead ENMWUA should be focusing its efforts on purchasing ground water rights in Eastern New Mexico.  In 2010 93% of all water pumped from the aquifer in Curry and Roosevelt counties was for irrigated agriculture, only 3% was for public consumption [2].   Reducing the percentage of water pumped for irrigation by purchasing water rights would insure Curry and Roosevelt County an ample public water supply indefinitely.

Lake Meredith provides water to the Canadian River Municipal Water Authority (CRWMA).  CRWMA provides municipal drinking water for eleven communities in the Texas Panhandle including Amarillo and Lubbock, with a total population over a half million people [5]. The Lake Meredith watershed is 16,048 square miles.

From the early 1970’s through 2001, Lake Meredith provided a majority of the water CRMWA suppled to its member cities. Beginning in the 1999 the inflow of water to Lake Meredith decreased substantially [6].  Lake Meredith provide no water for CRWMA in 2012 or 2013 and for the last 10 years Lake Meredith provided less than 20% of CRWMA’s water requirements because of drought conditions.  Over 80% of its water comes from ground water well fields [7]. 

In the mid 1990’s CRMWA began to develop groundwater sources to supplement its surface water supply from Lake Meredith.  CRMWA initially acquired 42,594 acres of ground water rights in Roberts County, installed well fields, and transmission facilities to deliver water into its existing aquifer system and to its member cities.  As Lake Meredith’s level continued to decline through the 1990’s and 2000’s and the water supply availability from the lake declined, CRMWA in several increments acquired additional groundwater rights and expanded its ground water production and delivery system.  As of September 30, 2009, CRMWA had acquired a total of 260,000 acres of water rights.  CRMWA is now one of the largest water rights owners in Texas owning over 442,800 acres of ground water rights, enough to secure the supply of water to its member cities though the year 2140.  CRMWA has spent approximately $286,730,000 to acquire these groundwater rights and to develop the distribution system to its member cities [8].  

Ute Dam and Reservoir was completed in 1963 with an initial storage capacity of 109,600 acre feet of water.  In 1984 New Mexico completed the enlargement of Ute Reservoir which increased its capacity to 272,800 acre feet.  With the exception of very limited use of golf course irrigation, diversions have yet to occur from Ute Lake Reservoir.  Annual decline in lake levels are associated with drought conditions, seepage through the dam, and evaporation. 

A review of the year-end total acre foot storage in Ute Reservoir during the 16 year period between January 1, 2008 and January 1, 2023 demonstrate that in 11 of those 16 years the January 1st lake levels were lower than they have been 12 months previously.  On January 1, 2023 the total storage at Ute Lake stood at 128,000 acre feet the lowest lake level since 2008 with the exception of January 1, 2013 when the lake storage was 119,000 acre feet [9].  These measurements demonstrate substantial reductions in lake storage for no other reason than seepage and evaporation.  The Ute Lake watershed is 3,852 square miles