NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – There are major delays in a years-long project impacting the crucial water supply for New Mexico farmers. Work on the El Vado dam has been underway since 2021, but now planners have to go back to the drawing board and farmers will have to wait even longer for their water.
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The Conservancy District heard Monday from the Federal Bureau of Reclamation, which is responsible for the project. Last year the project had to be put on hold after water leakage was discovered and they discovered that the damage was much greater than expected.
“I heard firsthand some noises coming from the dam as we were adding the grout behind the faceplate,” said Jennifer Faler with the Bureau of Reclamation.
The FBI conducted a 12-year investigation into the dam between 2007 and 2019, concluding that the dam had seepage issues and needed spillway repairs. Construction began in 2021 to address the issues, but construction encountered some major issues. First, grout plasters intended to prevent seepage did not do their job. In addition, crews discovered that the dam’s steel face plate and underlying supports were in much worse condition than initially thought.
Those responsible for the project decided that it was necessary to stop work and regroup. “The contractor has now received a termination letter and we are negotiating about this,” says Faler.
This comes as a huge blow to farmers along the Rio Grande who rely on the water stored in El Vado. Since construction began, that water storage has had to be diverted to other nearby dams, which cannot hold nearly as much. The earliest the dam could hold water for farmers was expected to be in 2026 or 2027, but after these latest discoveries that has been postponed.
During Monday’s meeting with the Conservancy District, the agency did say that they are working on a new solution and that they will be able to get some water back into the dam next year, but that they are still not sure how much the dam can contain. The Bureau of Reclamation said they hope to resume construction in the next three years.
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