Watch for big Rio Grande fluctuations downstream from Elephant Butte

The Bureau of Reclamation sent ’round a note yesterday warning of big fluctuations in Rio Grande flows downstream of Elephant Butte and Caballo dams as the agency marshals its tiny water supply to try to get it most efficiently to irrigators:

Extremely low water levels in both Elephant Butte and Caballo reservoirs have prompted water users to schedule releases from the reservoirs in a manner that will minimize transportation losses and maximize deliveries to the farmers and municipal users. This will result in a significant drop in river flows at times.

The gates for releasing water at Elephant Butte and Caballo dams are currently completely closed, and will not be reopened until late May of this year depending on the irrigation needs of the water users. Reclamation anticipates that the gates at both dams will be closed for the season in mid-August due to the low water supply.