![]() ![]() ![]() The soil on the Black Fire burn scar will remain tough for years, ranchers said, making it possible for precipitation to flow off of it easily in the future, leading to more flooding. Romero added that crews will strictly be removing debris and only one site in Cliff will get repairs due to the nature of the work. “There is a lot of administrative burden on that part, so a lot of forms that need to be filled out and a lot of due diligence as far as keeping track of costs.” However, it would be a much longer process to get that money back and it would only cover three-quarters of the cost. He explained that DHSEM also holds state emergency funds for Grant County, and acequia stewards could apply for those dollars instead. Matthew Smith is a senior program manager for the environmental consulting firm High Water Mark LLC. Southern acequia stewards try to understand ‘muddy’ disaster recovery process However, a steward could try to go through a different process to get reimbursed for that work. John Romero said no, because these funds are just for the Department of Transportation to do the debris removal. It’ll take six to eight weeks for the state to finish its job, Romero said.Īn acequia steward asked if they could start the clean-up work on their own and get reimbursed with these state funds later, if they can’t wait eight weeks for the work to get done. “But now we're moving in and we should move pretty fast.” “Things kind of stalled out since that point,” he said. He said the Department of Transportation met with the stewards back in November 2022 to talk about getting the project going. Romero said it took a while to get the funding to do this work. Romero said the department worked with the New Mexico Acequia Association to figure out which systems needed help and would consider helping other ditches, too, if they reach out immediately. There are likely around a dozen or more damaged acequias in other southern counties. That’s just over half of the public acequias in Grant County. John Romero, a director within the department, explained to acequia stewards in Silver City last week how the process will work.Įleven acequias are eligible for the debris removal in the Mimbres and Cliff areas. Department of Transportation will be in charge of clean-up operations. The agencies allocated over $1.4 million for acequia work. The New Mexico Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management teamed up with the Interstate Stream Commission to set aside funds so state workers could help remove all the debris. The work to get that done starts today.ĭuring fall 2022, floods that came after the Black Fire in the Gila pushed debris down rivers, blocking up irrigation systems that need to have water flowing for farmers and ranchers to use in the spring. In a few months, some acequias in southern New Mexico will finally be free of debris. ![]()
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