Give One to Chuy Reyes

Earlier I posted that the El Paso Water Improvement District (EPWID) was at it again. They were mowing grass along the Franklin Canal at the El Paso Zoo. I asked some wildlife and horticulture experts and discovered three things. First, it's not nesting season so legally the mowing is allowed even though other wildlife uses the drain. 

Secondly, I was also told that mowing keeps the vegetation low and somewhat manageable. Not mowing would mean unmanageable vegetation, which can leave a breeding ground for different animals and insects, some good some not. The grasses do help to hold the canal bank together.

Mr. Reyes, the Manager of EPWID, stated that "the mowing is part of the maintenance of our property, we have to keep the vegetation down so that our vehicles can patrol the canal banks." The water district is responsible for the maintenance, operation and upkeep of 400 miles of canals and 350 miles of drains from the New Mexico State borderline to the Hudspeth County line. Reyes said: "Simply we patrol to make sure water flow is not blocked and could cause over topping and flooding and we deliver irrigation water to some 32,000 accounts from small gardens to large farms and to the City of El Paso for treatment and utilized for potable water."

All of this sounds reasonable. The fight that we picked in the past had to do with the destruction of habitat and nests. The vegetation in that case did not impede patrolling and, in fact, served to shade the water and thus cut down on evaporation. 

As far as the canal at the Zoo, it is probably a moot point about mowing anyway. The Zoo has plans to concrete that section and build over the canal to create more area for their educational programs. After I emailed Reyes and expressed my concern about mowing the riparian area, he responded: "Sorry for your concern about the riparian zone but we are in the process of working out an agreement with the El Paso Zoo where they want to concrete that area of the canal so there won’t be any riparian to worry about."

And that's the third thing that I learned. It's true that Reyes is reasonable. However, when he says "there won't be any riparian to worry about" because the Zoo will concrete the area, there is a values difference at play. I'm not criticizing Reyes. I am, however, observing once again a common value in El Paso that makes environmentalism and conservation so difficult: we don't have to worry about nature as long as we can build over it, plow it down, build on top of it, etc. There is no attempt to live in community with nature in spite of the fact that architects and landscapers throughout the world are finding better ways.

It makes sense to mow. It also makes sense to blend in and preserve.

Water District At It Again

The El Paso Water Improvement District #1 (EPWID) is at it again. They are currently mowing the vegetation along the Franklin Canal by the El Paso Zoo. You will recall that they plowed through vegetation in the riparian zones of drains in El Paso's Upper Valley. This was during nesting season for birds and mammals. As a result the El Paso Water Utilities (EPWU) wrote a new policy to be more mindful of animal habitats. EPWU responded to the concerns of environmentalists. When asked about mitigating the loss of vegetation in the Upper Valley, Mr. Jesus (Chuy) Reyes only had this to say: “I am not interested in replanting native vegetation.” 

elpasonaturally has reached out to Mr. Reyes and is asking him about the benefit of mowing along the canals.

More later on this developing story.

EPWU Issues New Policy Mindful of Wildlife

A new policy regarding the clearance and dredging of irrigation drains was authorized by EPWU CEO John Balliew this past Friday. The policy was written in response to the massive destruction of animal habitat, including bird nests, and vegetation along the Montoya and Nemexas drains this past summer. That destruction was ordered by El Paso Water Improvement District Manager Jesus "Chuy" Reyes following a brush fire and a complaint by a prominent El Paso attorney. The El Paso Water Utilities was forced to help with the clean-up by prior agreements with the water district.

The extreme clear cutting of the drains resulted in an outcry from people living in that area of the Upper Valley, the El Paso conservation community and wildlife experts. Elpasonaturally had a number of posts about the operation beginning here.

John Balliew acted quickly to develop a new water utility policy that would be more mindful of animal life and vegetation. He put EPWU attorney, Lupe Cuellar, in charge of writing that policy. Ms. Cuellar worked with wildlife experts such as John Kiseda and Rick LoBello of the El Paso Zoo and Urban Wildlife Biologist, Lois Balin, along with leaders in El Paso's open space community. Very significantly she worked with utility field operations - the persons who actually do the work of maintaining the land. The new policy is written as a guide for field management.

Sensitivity to the nesting season and limiting the amount of vegetation to be cleared away during any given operation are central to the policy. Before any work can be done the EPWU's Environmental Planner will make an evaluation. That person has been identified as Valerie Provencio, the utility's archaeologist with expertise in ecology. A calendar governing the scope of operations was adopted as part of the project.

Here is the memorandum stating the policy and initialed by Balliew:

EPWU Canal Clearing Policy 101813

Dry Wetland

Sad to report that effluent from the Water Improvement District to the Rio Bosque has stopped.  

Not only that but in spite of the water district’s finally allowing the transfer of water rights to the Bosque by private landowners, there are apparently still some hold-ups.  Charlie Wakeem chronicles his attempts to transfer his water rights and I make some comments in a blog post: When a Water Right Isn’t a Water Right. El Paso Water Improvement District General Manager Chuy Reyes visited Senator Rodriguez’s Environmental Committee and answered their questions last week.  I was in attendance.  Here’s the bottom line: The Board of the Water District should give Mr. Reyes a raise. He is discharging his fiduciary responsibility by serving his customers – those small tract owners and large farmers who pay to have their land irrigated.  Given the drought, every drop is dedicated and directed toward paying customers. Thus, the Bosque is not going to get any more water even after a turnout is constructed by the water district from the canal into the Bosque.  The Rio Bosque Wetlands Park may get water in wet years to come – but not now.  Moreover, people with water rights will discover that they won’t be successful giving their water to the Bosque.  If they aren’t going to use it, then the paying customers are first in line.  This means that the only way that the Bosque can be guaranteed a regular supply of water is for the EPWU (which now holds the Bosque in its inventory of land) to deliver the water directly from the Bustamante plant by constructing a nearly half-million dollar pipeline – chump change really.  EPWU dumps water from the plant into the District’s waterway because it is obligated to give so much water back to the District and because it cannot now deal with some of its excess. That excess (if it is treated) can go to the Bosque. The water district will lose it – but then they could have given some of that free water to the Bosque just as effluent.

There is now even some question whether the Bosque has already received the acre feet of water from EPWU that was agreed upon.  Because of this uncertainty, new PSB Chairman Richard Schoephoerster does not want to put construction of the new pipeline on the agenda.  In my opinion, the PSB may be losing sight of the reason for the water and why it assumed the park into its inventory from the City: saving the Rio Bosque and turning it into the $18 Million eco-tourist attraction that it can become not to mention its value as a research center.  What needs to happen is a selection of a Bosque Planning Committee that can define a vision for the area and set a business plan.  Environmentalist, Judy Ackerman, says:

"It is well documented that the excess of 7,000 acre feet per season of effluent from the Bustamante belongs to EPWU.  PSB currently has two choices.  You can give that water away for FREE to Hudspeth County OR you can use it to recharge our own aquifer for a long term sustainable solution for the water needs or your customers.  Keeping your water on your land has multiple additional benefits such as scientific research opportunities, a world class wetlands park on an international boarder in an economically struggling area, and many more benefits." 

Someone needs to begin asking why EPWU and Water District policies seem to favor Hudspeth farmers with their full reservoirs. 

One more thought. Farmers around here raise some pretty water intensive crops: cotton and pecans come to mind.  Both crops are far more profitable than other crops that require less water.  So for the gain of immediate profit and personal enrichment, some farmers in our area will impoverish future generations of water.  Here’s the thought: perhaps water districts by law should have to go to a tiered system of billing just as the EPWU does with you and me.  If I use a little bit of water, I buy it at a pretty good rate.  If I leap into the next tier of water use, then my rate more than doubles.  Water conservation would be encouraged. Remember the Iroquois maxim:  “In our every deliberation, we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations.”  This beats the heck out of that slogan that says that “he who dies with the most toys wins.”

I have said just about all that I can say about the ASARCO stacks.  You can read my final (probably, maybe penultimate) blog post for now. I have spoken with environmental engineers who tell me that the $50 Million for clean-up was a fraction of what was really needed.  One of them told me that there is no way that even a sprinkler can keep dust from spreading when the concrete stacks are brought down and hit the ground at a high impact speed.  What plans are there for mitigating UTEP, Kern Place, Anapra, Juarez, etc. after the impact lifts dust into the air?  Bottom line from engineers: heavy metals have leeched into the ground and will make their way to the river. The material used to encapsulate contaminated materials in the Parker Brothers Arroyo will give way eventually - perhaps as early as 20 years.  Expert environmental engineers advise that we must be vigilant about monitoring for generations to come. Some places on the Asarco site (not all and not the majority of the area) must never be built upon.

Please sign the Complete Streets Petition.  A complete street “will accommodate all road users, regardless of age, ability, or mode of transportation.  Complete streets might include sidewalks, bike lanes, cycle tracks, wide paved shoulders, special bus lanes, comfortable and accessible transit stops, frequent crossing opportunities, median islands, accessible pedestrian signals, or curb extensions.” Get information and sign the petition.  Scroll down the page; there are links to much more information.  Bike Texas has complete streets as part of their legislative agenda which also includes safe passing and a ban on texting while driving.

And while we are on the subject of Bike Texas, be sure to read an article by our own Beth Nobles, Executive Director of Texas Mountain Trail. She writes about a way to earn dollars for a favorite charity through a new iPhone or Android app called Charity Miles. The program is for walkers, runners and bikers. Beth is also the oomph behind Peak Fitness Challenge along with Don Baumgardt of GeoBetty.  Keeping El Paso naturally means keeping our Trans-Pecos/Southwestern New Mexico region naturally and fit as well. (And charitable.)

For great hikes and events just check out El Paso Hiking Group, GeoBetty, Guadalupe Mountains National Park Meetup Group,  Las Cruces & El Paso Adventurists, Peak Fitness Challenge,  High Desert Hikers and Las Cruces Hiking Meetup. 

If you want a recreational and educational excursion in the El Paso/Las Cruces area, sign up for one of the Back by Noon events sponsored by the Southwest Environmental Center.  See a Back by Noon poster.

Congratulations to El Paso Zoo Education Curator, Rick LoBello, this year's recipient of the annual El Paso Trans Pecos Audubon Society Conservation Award.

By the way, join the Auduboners on a field trip this Saturday, Feb. 23, to the Holloman Lakes and Dog Canyon.  You'll drive north on US 54 about 1-1/2 hours to Alamogordo, then US 70 to the Holloman Lakes.  This area in an Important bird area.  Then picnic and bird at Oliver Lee State Park.  There is a fee of $5 per vehicle.  After lunch the group plans to take a short hike up Dog Canyon.  Meet at Lowe's Parking Lot, 4531 Transmountain Road behind Taco Bell at 7:00 a.m.  Bring lunch, binoculars, water and a scope if you have one.  Beginners and nonmembers are welcome.  Contact Mark Perkins at 637-3521 for more information.

Check out the Permaculture Workshop this Saturday at the Memorial Park Garden Center.

Not just a coffee table book – Cacti of Texas by El Pasoans, Gertrude and Ad Konings, should be in the library of every Chihuahuan Desert recreationalist.

Finally and sadly we note the passing of Kathy Goodell, the wife of Dr. Phil Goodell.  Read her obituary.  You will recall that the Goodells recently gave $1 Million to UTEP’s College of Science for a center of entrepreneurial geosciences.

 

Rio Bosque Dry Again

Please sign the Complete Streets Petition.  A complete street “will accommodate all road users, regardless of age, ability, or mode of transportation.  Complete streets might include sidewalks, bike lanes, cycle tracks, wide paved shoulders, special bus lanes, comfortable and accessible transit stops, frequent crossing opportunities, median islands, accessible pedestrian signals, or curb extensions.” Get information and sign the petition.  Scroll down the page; there are links to much more information.  Bike Texas has complete streets as part of their legislative agenda which also includes safe passing and a ban on texting while driving.

And while we are on the subject of Bike Texas, be sure to read an article by our own Beth Nobles, Executive Director of Texas Mountain Trail. She writes about a way to earn dollars for a favorite charity through a new iPhone or Android app called Charity Miles.” The program is for walkers, runners and bikers. Beth is also the oomph behind Peak Fitness Challenge along with Don Baumgardt of GeoBetty.  Keeping El Paso naturally means keeping our Trans-Pecos/Southwestern New Mexico region naturally and fit as well. (And charitable.)

For great hikes and events just check out El Paso Hiking Group, GeoBetty, Guadalupe Mountains National Park Meetup Group,  Las Cruces & El Paso Adventurists, Peak Fitness Challenge,  High Desert Hikers and Las Cruces Hiking Meetup.

Sad to report that effluent to the Rio Bosque has stopped.  On top of that, in spite of the water district’s finally allowing the transfer of water rights to the Bosque by private landowners, there are apparently still some hold-ups.  Charlie Wakeem chronicles his attempts to transfer his water rights and I make some comments in a blog post today: When a Water Right Isn’t a Water Right. El Paso Water Improvement District General Manager Chuy Reyes visited Senator Rodriguez’s Environmental Committee and answered their questions yesterday.  I was in attendance.  Here’s the bottom line: The Board of the Water District should give Mr. Reyes a raise. He is discharging his fiduciary responsibility by serving his customers – those small tract owners and large farmers who pay to have their land irrigated.  Given the drought, every drop is dedicated and directed toward paying customers. Thus, the Bosque is not going to get any more water even after a turnout is constructed from the canal into the Bosque.  They may get water in wet years to come – but not now.  Moreover, people with water rights will discover that they won’t be successful giving their water to the Bosque.  If they aren’t going to use it, then the paying customers are first in line.  This means that the only way that the Bosque can be guaranteed a regular supply of water is for the EPWU (which now holds the Bosque in its inventory of land) to deliver the water directly from the Bustamante plant by constructing a nearly half-million dollar pipeline – chump change really.  EPWU dumps water from the plant into the District’s waterway because it is obligated to give so much water back to the District and because it cannot now deal with some of its excess. That excess (if it becomes purple pipe water) can go to the Bosque. The water district will lose it – but then they could have given some of that free water to the Bosque without converting it to purple pipe water.

One more thought. Farmers around here raise some pretty water intensive crops: cotton and pecans come to mind.  Both crops are quite profitable than other crops that require less water.  So for the gain of immediate profit and personal enrichment, some farmers in our area will impoverish future generations of water.  Here’s the thought: perhaps water districts by law should have to go to a tiered system of billing just as the EPWU does with you and me.  If I use a little bit of water, I buy it at a pretty good rate.  If I leap into the next tier of water use, then my rate more than doubles.  Water conservation would be encouraged. Remember the Iroquois maxim:  “In our every deliberation, we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations.”  This beats the heck out of that slogan that says that “he who dies with the most toys wins.”

I have said just about all that I can say about the ASARCO stacks.  You can read my final (probably, maybe penultimate) blog post for now.

If you want a recreational and educational excursion in the El Paso/Las Cruces area, sign up for one of the Back by Noon events sponsored by the Southwest Environmental Center.  See a Back by Noon poster.

Not just a coffee table book – Cacti of Texas by El Pasoans, Gertrude and Ad Konings, should be in the library of every Chihuahuan Desert recreationalist.

El Paso history comes alive with Melissa Sargent and Jackson Polk every Saturday morning from 10 to Noon on the El Paso History Radio Show on KTSM AM 690 Talk Radio.  Tomorrow morning Melissa and Jackson welcome some Harvey Girls and hear about their role in railroad history. They will also speak with President Dehrkoop and a master mistress re-enactor, Patricia Kiddney, who will portray several of the old West famous women. On February 16 El Paso City Manger Joyce Wilson is on hour one of the show to talk about preservation of downtown buildings.

Do also visit and like on Facebook Old West El Paso Town. Henry Flores writes:  The site “has been created to show and spread the word of the long overdue proposal for the creation of a western town attraction in the heart of our historic city of El Paso, Texas. “Old West El Paso Town” will be built in replica of 1800's downtown South El Paso Street with several historic structures . . . that sadly no longer exist . . . [It] will house small shops, eats and non-stop entertainment.”

Finally and sadly we note the passing of Kathy Goodell, the wife of Dr. Phil Goodell.  Read her obituary.  You will recall that the Goodells recently gave $1 million to UTEP’s College of Science for a center of entrepreneurial geosciences.

When a Water Right Isn't a Water Right

One idea for getting water to the Rio Bosque is simply asking for people with water rights to transfer their "share" to the Bosque.  For example, Charlie Wakeem has tried for years to give the water that is his because of property he owns in the Mission Valley.  For years he has been denied or given the old runaround.  I asked Charlie to chronicle his experience. Here is what he wrote:

"Hi Jim,

It's hard to give you an accurate chronology of what happened over the years.  So, I'll start from the very beginning.

I had a 22 acre water allotment on my land, which was being farmed.  I owned it since the mid-70s.  The property is on Alameda along the EP-Socorro city limits.  In the mid-90s I stopped leasing the property to a farmer in order to develop the 20 acres that were in El Paso.  I had another 3 acres in Socorro.    I developed the El Paso portion into a mobile home park and left the 3 acres in Socorro undeveloped, most of which was used as a ponding area for the mobile home park.  I leased the 20 acre water allotment in El Paso to EPWU in 2002 on a long term lease.  At that time, EPWU could not lease irrigation water rights outside of the city limits.  Thus, I kept the remaining 2 acre water allotment on the other 3 acres in Socorro.  I offered to lease the the 2 acre allotment to the Lower Valley Water District at that time.  They told me they would happily take the water, but wouldn't pay for it.  So, I basically told them, "Toma!"  Since then, I learned that EPWU is now leasing irrigation water rights outside the city limits.  Nevertheless, I kept the 2 acre allotment. The annual assessment is only $54.00.  I am currently developing the 3 acres in Socorro into a strip center.  I sold the mobile home park about a year ago.

Here's where the time line gets a little fuzzy.  At least 6 years ago, and probably longer, Maria Trunk, who was a member of Friends of the Rio Bosque and President of the Frontera Land Alliance, told me she was trying to get water for the Bosque.  I told her about my 2 acre allotment at that time and offered it as a donation to the Rio Bosque.  She was thrilled and told me I would be the guinea pig for other water rights owners to follow.  I subsequently went to the Water District and told them what I wanted to do.  To make a long story short, I had been stalled, put off, delayed, made excuses to, etc., etc., etc, by the District ever since.  In fact Chuy Reyes told me in front of a PSB meeting a couple years ago that he would have something worked out for me "soon".  [N.B.: I was there and remember this happening.]  I met with him again in December, 2011 to ask about my donation to the Bosque.  He told me the turnout was the only thing holding up the transfer and would be installed by March 31, 2012 along with a lease document he was working on with John Sproul and would be prepared by that time.  He said it would probably be a 10 year lease agreement between Rio Bosque and me.  Nothing happened since until the past few weeks, as you know.  John told me just the other day that the turnout was delivered, but still hasn't been installed.

In case you're not aware of it already, here's what's happened during the past few weeks.  Richard Teschner called me and told me he was working with Sen. Rodriguez as chairman of the Senator's Environmental Committee.  His committee has been working to get private water rights, like mine, to the Bosque.  As I told you in the previous paragraph, I'm the guinea pig.  Richard said that they're proposing the "Charlie Law" to the Legislature in order to guarantee the transfer.  Richard asked me to call Lisa Aguilar at the Water District.  I did the following Monday, January 14.  Lisa transferred me to a Cathy [Kathy?] Oysten.  Ms. Oysten stalled me yet again.  I called her about a week later to get a decision.  She said there was no way I could transfer my water rights to the Rio Bosque.  The excuse being the Bosque had to be farming with a water allotment of their own in order to make a transfer.  I reported this to Richard and John.  Subsequently, Richard told me Cecilia Rodriguez at Sen. Rodriguez' office called Chuy Reyes.  Hence, John and I met with him, Ms. Oysten and Rose Rodriguez Monday morning in the main office of the Water District in Clint.  They presented us with the transfer agreement that they will use and mail it to each of us when it's filled out.  Now, I'll hurry up and wait once again.                              
                                                                 
I hope this helps.  You're welcome to publish this email in your blog (edited if you'd like).                                                                                                                                                                      
           
Charlie"

Yesterday Mr. Reyes met with Senator Rodriguez's Environmental Committee.  He was asked why the transfer of water rights was only temporary.  (The contract must be renewed yearly.) His reply as that the District does not know how much water will be allocated except on a yearly basis.  The question then became why the contract shouldn't be a percentage whatever the allocation is.  (It's a percentage now based on land owned.) Mr. Reyes said that he had to fill out a report showing the actual amount of water. I have no reason to doubt this but his bottom line is really very simple: his duty is to District and to make available every drop of water he can to his paying customers. Although one can fault the District for not honoring the water rights of some by making transfers difficult to say the least, one can see their intentions especially as the drought worsens.

Charlie (and others) should be able to transfer their rights . . .  by right. I understand the fiduciary responsibility that Chuy Reyes and the District has and perhaps by law Mr. Reyes has the authority to approve or not a transfer - an approval that he may be reluctant to give in times of drought.  The form below indicates that he does have such authority. If so, then there is no need for runaround or leaving anyone hanging.

Click on image to enlarge.