GUADALUPE COUNTY, N.M. (KRQE) – This year, the active monsoon season has been filling up New Mexico lakes.
Now, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said it will start releasing water from Santa Rosa Lake to Sumner Lake starting on August 5. It could last until August 12.
As Carlsbad Irrigation District owns the irrigation water in the lake, they have requested a 21-foot drop of water to be released. Carlsbad is currently experiencing a drought.
“The final date and time for the end of the release will depend on when the full release of 13,400 acre-feet is complete, or if Bureau of Reclamation requests an earlier stop to retain more storage in Santa Rosa Lake,” said USACE-Albuquerque District's Water Management Section Pecos River Basin Manager Morgan Humphrey.
After the release, the lake's elevation should stand at around 2,900 acre-feet of storage.
The boat ramp at Santa Rosa State Park will be closed until the water is transferred over.