Elephant Butte Dam: Irrigation shaped Mesilla Valley's history

Elephant Butte Dam

Las Cruces Sun-News -  For almost a century, the Rio Grande has come to a stop at what was once the largest man-made reservoir in the world. From there, through the spillway of the Elephant Butte Dam, the river waters become part of a complex irrigation network feeding farms and orchards from Rincon to the El Paso Valley. With the beginning of another dry irrigation season this week, farmers already know they'll be getting precious little — in most cases, the equivalent of one good irrigation — of that river water this year. Yet without Elephant Butte, it's possible some wouldn't be getting any at all. Before the dam, the Rio Grande was a naturally flowing ribbon of water. But it was erratic, either flowing strong or at a trickle. In 1902, the newly created U.S. Reclamation Service assumed control over a proposed dam some wanted built 90 miles north of Las Cruces. That dam would impact the growth, development and history of the Mesilla Valley like nothing else. Read More News New Mexico

Elephant Butte Dam: Irrigation shaped Mesilla Valley's history