The Irrigation District's Water Supply

The irrigation system located in the County of El Paso and El Paso County Water Improvement District No. 1 is unique in that the water supply is captured in  reservoirs in New Mexico, and is released from the Southern most reservoir known as the Caballo Reservoir, located 120 miles north of the City of El Paso.

All waters in the two reservoirs - Elephant Butte and Caballo are appropriated for downstream users.

Water stored in the reservoirs originates in the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, and is dependent upon the amount snow fall in the mountains of Colorado and New Mexico each year.

Sources of Water

Water available to the El Paso county Water Improvement District No. 1 is stored in Elephant Butte and Caballo Reservoirs in New Mexico until it is ordered for release by the Irrigation District. The reservoirs are operated and maintained by the United States Bureau of Reclamation. The water originates in the Rocky Mountains in southern Colorado, and is dependent upon snow fall and rain fall in southern Colorado and northern New Mexico.

Runoff from the mountains travels down stream in the Rio Grande, and delivery into the Elephant Butte and Caballo Reservoirs is guaranteed by the terms of the Rio Grande Compact of 1939, which requires Colorado and southern New Mexico to deliver a specified amount of water to the down stream users.

The average annual Rio Grande inflow into Elephant Butte Reservoir is 937,570 acre feet, but it is erratic ranging from 114,100 to 2,831,000 acre feet per year.  (An acre foot is equal to 325,829 gallons.)