Drought conditions raising concerns for Valley farmers
The lack of rain is a concern for farmers who are worried about what this could mean for their upcoming season.
Wayne Reavis, president of Reavis Farm, said they had enough moisture to finish out the dry season, but drought conditions will make it hard for farmers like himself to get through the irrigation season when they plant watermelons and onions.
“The dam is low, and I know that when it reaches combined capacity of the two lakes anywhere from 15 to 17 percent, we could be looking at some negative allocations where they’re taking water away from us,” Reavis said.
The water they use to irrigate comes from Falcon Lake.
Reavis says his irrigation district hasn’t started restricting water, but he fears if the Valley doesn’t get rainfall soon, that will change.
"We may be in a situation where we start the season not knowing if we can get to the end of it with water," Reavis said.
From now until September, Reavis Farms will be preparing the irrigation fields, but there’s no telling how much water they’ll be limited to.
"Those answers aren't available right now," Reavis said. "They will be as we move forward, but between now and the middle of September, we'll have several hundred thousand dollars worth of inputs in the ground that I'm not going to get back."
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