A rapid rise in the water level on the Santa Cruz River flooded the ditch and backed up into the sandtrap below the pressa. Water also flooded the Herrera and La Lomita ditches across the river. Commissioners from the Ortega, La Mesilla, and Garcia approved backhoe work to clear the sand from the flush. A bulldozer was also used to build up the banks on the south side of the river.
In the end we hired Eluid Salazar to come in, dredge the channel and remove the old beaver dam that was the cause of much of the flooding. The silt was too deep to completely clear that area. However, with what Eluid was able to do, we can run water through the season. Our ditch pitched in $1,000, the two other ditches $3,000, and we were able to get $5,000 from the East Rio Arriba Soil and Water District to complete the work.
Flush at the river after work was completed
