Joe Lutz
daily press staff
As this year’s legislative session continues, farmers in the Gila and Mimbres river basins are desperate for help to restore vital irrigation infrastructure destroyed by floods during last summer’s very wet monsoon season. .
After clashing twice with FEMA, they are awaiting more limited support from the state through the Department of Transportation. While this now seems likely, the major repairs required remain outstanding.
Meanwhile, Grant County and New Mexico-wide Waterways and Acequia Associations are trying to find ways to access emergency refund funds without upfront capital, and are trying to build reserves to avoid future emergencies. is.
Respite from flooding, and even the survival of many farms in these watersheds, may depend on decisions taken at this session. , and access to funds from the New Mexico Unit Fund for the Arizona Water Settlement Act.
FEMA failure
Grant County emergency manager Justin Gojkovic has been coordinating the county’s response since the worst of the floods in late August. In September, the New He Mexico disaster failed to reach the threshold for FEMA relief, based on an assessment by the NM Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency.
Grant County intended to reapply using a second, higher rating, widely believed to be more accurate. However, Gojkovic recently contacted FEMA about reapplying and was told that “the federal disaster fund application has expired.”
“You can’t reapply for FEMA because you have 60 days to call for help after each disaster,” Gojkovich said.
NMDOT help
Last week, the state issued a long-awaited purchase order to remove silt and debris from gutters in Grant County. At the state’s request, Mimbres’ nine waterways filed a right-of-way form to allow contractors access to the land.
“DOT seems to be on the right track,” said Gojkovich.
Contractor George Romero emailed Destre Shelley, a member of the Fort West Ditch Association, hoping to have the PO in hand sometime this week, and then a pre-construction walkthrough. was able to start.
Shelley and fellow association member Autumn Bruton launched the Gila Valley Flood Task Force in August and have spearheaded many efforts to fund repairs and restoration.
“It sounds hopeful,” Shelley said. “But it sounds hopeful since November, doesn’t it?”
With the expected removal of debris and silt, many farmers will be able to water this spring, but the ditches will remain vulnerable to subsequent flooding.
The expensive repair items are diversions (earth banks that channel water into the channel and keep the surrounding fields out) and headgates (huge valves that control the flow of water into the ditch).
Without these controls, farmers like Danny Roybal of Mimbres had to intentionally block ditches and fields to prevent further washing away. Roybal is a fellow Grijalva Acequia who is wiped inside by the DOT and left with a homemade dam in his mouth until he finds a way to replace the headgate.
Fort West Ditch’s 35 patrons are unable to raise enough capital to complete the work required to rebuild the washed-out bank. Their acequia membership valuation is about $25 per share, just barely enough to cover $4,000 to $12,000 in typical annual maintenance and repairs.
“Basically, we have to start irrigation in March, so there will be problems,” she said. “So really, we are in kind of a crisis. U-Bar Ranch employs eight families that are directly affected. My husband manages a registered herd. If there is no water in the ditches, we have to kill the registered flock.”
emergency fund
difficult to obtain
The governor declared a flood-related emergency in September and allocated $750,000 for emergency relief. However, this fund can only be used to reimburse applicants who have prepaid for repair costs. This is an investment of capital that no one has been able to make so far.
Farmers and waterways unions were unable to bring cash up front, so Grant County considered options to pony up on their behalf.
Gojkovich said he and County Manager Charlene Webb asked Lt. Howie Morales to approach the Department of Homeland Security with this idea.
According to Gojkovic, “He said he strongly advises against approaching funding that way.” You will be responsible for completing the
The committee was blocked and decided against the risk.
Proposed solution
Senator Shia Correa Hemphill currently runs SB 176, the Aequia Fund for Disaster Response, along with Senator Pete Campos. She also said she is working to fix this issue by trying to establish a fund with the Rural Infrastructure Crisis Response Act, which has not yet received a commission hearing.
“I want to create a rural infrastructure crisis fund at the state government level,” she said. “This is a fund that can be used to facilitate access to funds in times of crisis.”
Correa Hemphill advocates for another water bill, not just for emergency use and not just for Acequia.
On January 26, she introduced Senate Bill 70 to the Senate Preservation Committee. The bill, called the Unit Fund Bill, would provide her $600,000 to Grant, Hidalgo, Catron, and Luna Counties to provide technical assistance and project management support for more than $100 million in “Unit Fund” project proposals. it’s for getting. Part of the Federal Arizona Water Settlement Act.
“The Unit Fund was intended to provide long-term water security and employment,” Correa Hemphill said. “We need more technical assistance and project coordinators to help with the unit fund application process.”
The bill was passed unanimously by the committee.
Desired capital expenditure
Rose Shoemaker runs Bear Paw Ranch in Fort West Ditch. Since her husband died many years ago, she has been non-functioning as a ranch, but is now bustling with lodging. Cabins and “glamping” tents surround a small pond surrounded by canoes and hammocks, home to great blue herons, sandhill herring cranes, and other wildlife. Horses, donkeys and cows also drink and forage in the pond.
She relies on the ditch to supply the pond with water. The pond is a central attraction, she says, important to her livelihood.
However, floodwaters swept one bank of the Gila River, pushing it to within about 50 feet of the ditch. With further river erosion, such as during the monsoon season, the ditch disappears entirely.
Through the Natural Resources Conservation Fund, Shoemaker applied for funding for a seawall fence to strengthen the bank.
“This is how close Fort West Ditch is to eradicating,” said Shoemaker, pointing to the short distance between the Ditch and the river. It would be devastating not just for us, but for the entire valley.”
NRCS funds are awarded to individual landowners. However, as a political subdivision of the state, the Asekiyah and Ditch Associations are entitled to seek capital expenditures from Congress for infrastructure projects to protect their collective property.
The Fort West Ditch Association is seeking funding to replace the siphons under Headgate and Bear Creek. The Gila Farm Ditch needs multiple siphons and the Grijalva Ditch Association is seeking capital expenditure to replace the headgate and stabilize and improve the bank.
Other waterways and waterways are seeking capital funding for long-term upgrades and major restorations. Headgates, siphons, dikes and drainage are not covered by NRCS or NMDOT work and are not affordable for Hydrographic Associations to do on their own.
Can you find a solution to the problem without negligence?
Everyone agrees means everyone agrees.
Farmers in both valleys expressed appreciation for the efforts of Grant County staff and commissioners and said they felt supported by both legislators and the Acequia Association of New Mexico. reported that both sides were frustrated by the inability to release the funds.
Yet, six months after the disaster, little has come of the official channel for flood relief in Grant County. Farmers look down on the barrels of the impending unirrigated planting season, followed immediately by the bankless monsoon season.
“I feel like a lot of people are working for us and trying to do a lot to make sure we have access to this emergency fund,” said Bruton, who owns a family farm along Hilla Farm Ditch. Told. “People are really supportive and try to understand how they can help. …But what we have found is that everyone hits a wall.”
She noted that she and Sherry have invested a tremendous amount of time and expertise even though they both have regular jobs. He said he lacked both the time and internet skills to work with.
Gojkovic sees a silver lining — politicians and governments are starting to realize that something has to change.
“I’m glad they’re starting to realize there’s a lot of bureaucracy,” Gojkovic said. “We have submitted all the paperwork and are asking for confirmation…why does it take so much effort to get water back on the land?”

To contact Jo Lutz: [email protected]