近距离内射合集

CORRALES 鈥� Around the late 1930s, farmer Johnny Lopez鈥檚 family moved from the Rio Puerco Valley to Corrales, where they bought a 7-acre property because the river back home was drying up.

He remembers spending summers helping his family grow vegetables, apples and peaches. In the mid-1960s, after Lopez and his brother left home, his father replaced the crops with alfalfa.

Lopez later returned to take care of the farm, which, until recently, could rely on surface water to keep its crops healthy.

鈥淭hat would all be alfalfa,鈥� he said, pointing to his yellowish-brown field. 鈥淣ow, it鈥檚 just all stems. It鈥檚 just sad. Sad to see it all just dead.鈥�

Because of the drought, which some say has contributed to the village having a 鈥渉istorically bad鈥� water season, Lopez got rid of most of his animals. He now has to buy hay to feed his 20-year-old palomino quarter horse, Goldie, and his goats, Barbe and Cue.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 think it鈥檚 going to get them through the winter,鈥� Lopez said.

According to a survey conducted by the Corrales Farmers鈥� Cooperative, 57 residents reported moderate to extreme challenges with water availability.

鈥淚t鈥檚 been pretty brutal because of the heat and, of course, zero water for anybody in Corrales,鈥� said Mike Hamman, vice president of the Corrales Farmers鈥� Cooperative. 鈥淔or anybody that was solely relying on the river, they had to fallow their fields this year.鈥�

鈥榃hat鈥檚 with the water?鈥�

Earlier this year, when the pump system was operating, Lopez said he was able to irrigate a couple of times.

But in April, the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District suspended irrigation deliveries to Corrales. At the time, the river flow was 430 cubic feet of water per second, Amanda Molina, a Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District spokesperson, said in April.

For the pumps to work optimally, the river should be close to 600 cfs, said Jason Casuga, the conservancy district CEO and chief engineer.

鈥淭he river has to be a certain height for the pumps to work,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t has to have a certain elevation and as that elevation got lower, with the flow going down, the pumps weren鈥檛 going to function correctly and we could have damaged those pumps.鈥�

Lopez said when the decision was made to suspend the irrigation deliveries, 鈥淲e were all going, 鈥榃hat鈥檚 with the water?鈥欌��

The fields have long since dried up and 鈥淚 never got to cut my alfalfa,鈥� he said. Instead, he got rid of 10 goats and bought hay to feed his horse and goats.

鈥淚 can鈥檛 remember it being so dry like this,鈥� he said.

While some farmers count on surface water to grow crops, Silver Leaf Farms co-owner Elan Silverblatt-Buser said he relies on wells and drip irrigation, which is the slow and frequent application of small amounts of water through emitters or tiny holes spaced along polyethylene tubing or tape, according to New Mexico State University.

鈥淲e鈥檙e a small, mid-scale organic vegetable operation,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 have 200 acres of alfalfa or 20 acres of chile or something.鈥�

Silverblatt-Buser said while the village鈥檚 surface water situation is not new, 鈥渋t is shocking to see the dry riverbed everyday (and) it is shocking to see the cottonwood trees losing their leaves in the middle of the summer.鈥�

鈥淵ou know, it's a scary thing when we鈥檙e on the ditch going between fields and you just see these pastures that are dead,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou just see brown. You see death and dying in the middle of the summer. No one wants to see that.鈥�

Since June 1, the Albuquerque International Sunport has received .91 inches of rain, which is about 70% below normal, 3.03 inches, said Scott Overpeck, National Weather Service of Albuquerque meteorologist. And, as of Aug. 13, the Drought Monitor reported Bernalillo County to be in an extreme drought.

鈥淭he Rio Grande at the Albuquerque gauge is not recording any flow,鈥� Overpeck said.

Casuga said the only way to describe the last few months is 鈥渉istorically bad.鈥�

鈥淲e thought it could be this bad and it is every bit as bad as we thought it would be,鈥� he said.

Molina said MRGCD will continue to monitor conditions 鈥渁nd will resume deliveries if river levels rise sufficiently.鈥�

Despite the dire situation, some people are cautiously optimistic things could change.

Overpeck said NWS there is a 鈥渧ery strong鈥� possibility that an El Ni帽o event will develop this winter, which could mean above-average precipitation for New Mexico.

鈥淗ow much snow? There鈥檚 just not enough information to make that determination,鈥� he said.

Along with the possibility of much-needed moisture this winter, the village鈥檚 siphon project is expected to be finished by the end of the year.

This would put Corrales farmers on an equal footing with the other estimated 10,000 MRGCD farmers 鈥渢o irrigate whatever in the cycle that we have with the water available,鈥�  Hamman said.

鈥淏efore we had to live with the temporary pumping plant that does not work when the river drops to a low volume,鈥� he said. 鈥淪o that puts us at a disadvantage compared to other farmers in the area. But with the siphon replaced, and if it鈥檚 a good runoff, we'll probably see water supplies like a typical year that gets us past the Fourth of July, maybe even into early August.鈥�

Gregory R.C. Hasman is a general assignment reporter and the Road Warrior. He can be reached at ghasman@abqjournal.com or 505-823-3820.