DEMING – Luna County ranchers are raising concerns over new water wells being drilled by U.S. Customs and Border Protection as construction of the southern border wall resumes in southern New Mexico.
Russell Johnson, president of the Luna County Farm and Livestock Bureau, said CBP is drilling wells approximately every five miles along the U.S.-Mexico border to support construction activities and provide water for dust suppression.
Johnson said the wells are being drilled within the Roosevelt Easement, a 60-foot-wide federal easement established in 1907. While the federal government maintains it can drill within the easement without complying with New Mexico water permitting requirements, Johnson contends the wells should be permitted through the New Mexico Office of the State Engineer, the agency responsible for regulating the state’s water resources.
According to Johnson, the new wells are designed to produce up to 300 gallons of water per minute, significantly more than the 3 to 7 gallons per minute typically pumped by domestic wells used by area ranchers for homes and livestock.
He said drilling has already taken place in the Mimbres, Hachita and Playas groundwater basins without permits from the Office of the State Engineer. Johnson believes the additional groundwater withdrawals could impact existing water rights and wells throughout those basins.
Johnson said the issue extends beyond ranchers living along the border, noting that the Mimbres Basin supplies water to nearly all of Luna County and portions of Grant County.
Because of those concerns, local organizers held a public meeting July 9 to discuss the issue. Johnson said the meeting was announced through community flyers and social media, with one informational video receiving more than 13,000 views and being shared more than 100 times before the meeting.
CBP has not publicly responded to the concerns raised by the Luna County Farm and Livestock Bureau regarding state water permitting requirements.
John Krehbiel – Bravo Mic Communications, LLC – john@bravomic.com
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