Carlsbad Project
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The Carlsbad Irrigation District, also known as Carlsbad Reclamation Project or Irrigation system of the Pecos Irrigation and Improvement Company, is a major early water reclamation project located near
Carlsbad Carlsbad may refer to: Geographical locations * Carlsbad, California, San Diego County, United States ** Carlsbad Santa Fe Depot, NRHP ID No. 93001016 * Carlsbad, New Mexico, United States ** Carlsbad Caverns National Park ** Carlsbad Irriga ...
in southeastern
New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...
. Begun in the 1880s, it is now managed by the
United States Bureau of Reclamation The Bureau of Reclamation, formerly the United States Reclamation Service, is a federal agency under the U.S. Department of the Interior, which oversees water resource management, specifically as it applies to the oversight and operatio ...
, and provides irrigation water to a large area around Carlsbad, diverted from the
Pecos River The Pecos River ( ; ) originates in north-central New Mexico and flows into Texas, emptying into the Rio Grande. Its headwaters are on the eastern slope of the Sangre de Cristo mountain range in Mora County north of Pecos, New Mexico, at an elev ...
and the Black River. The late 19th and early 20th-century elements of the project were designated a
National Historic Landmark District A National Historic Landmark District (NHLD) is a geographical area that has received recognition from the United States Government that the buildings, landscapes, cultural features and archaeological resources within it are of the highest signific ...
in 1964. and  


History and description

The city of Carlsbad is located in the northern reaches of the Chihuahuan Desert. In order to work this area agriculturally settlers arriving in the late 19th century turned to irrigation to provide water for their crops. By the late 1880s, this resulted in a patchwork of private canals irrigating small patches of land. Charles B. Eddy and Pat Garrett, two local ranchers and businessmen, hatched the idea of a larger and more organized corporate-run irrigation system to serve the entire lower Pecos River valley. The project got underway in 1889, when construction began on the
Avalon Dam Avalon Dam is a small dam on the Pecos River about north of Carlsbad, New Mexico, United States. The dam is a storage and regulating reservoir, and diverts water into the main canal of the Carlsbad Project, an irrigation scheme. Location The Pec ...
, which now serves as a diversion and regulation point for the system. In 1893 the Avalon Dam had to be rebuilt after its destruction in a
flash flood A flash flood is a rapid flooding of low-lying areas: washes, rivers, dry lakes and depressions. It may be caused by heavy rain associated with a severe thunderstorm, hurricane, or tropical storm, or by meltwater from ice and snow. Flash f ...
, and the
McMillan Dam MacMillan, Macmillan, McMillen or McMillan may refer to: People * McMillan (surname) * Clan MacMillan, a Highland Scottish clan Places Australia * Division of McMillan, electoral district in Australian House of Representatives in Victoria ...
was built further upriver as a major storage facility. The Avalon Dam was once again destroyed by flooding in 1903, sending the system into effective bankruptcy. It was then taken over by the
United States Bureau of Reclamation The Bureau of Reclamation, formerly the United States Reclamation Service, is a federal agency under the U.S. Department of the Interior, which oversees water resource management, specifically as it applies to the oversight and operatio ...
, which completed reconstruction of the Avalon Dam in 1907, and has overseen the project since. The Carlsbad Irrigation District was founded in 1932 and assumed operations of the project in 1949.https://www.usbr.gov/projects/pdf.php?id=93 The system has since then been augmented by the
Brantley Dam Brantley Dam is a flood-control and irrigation water-storage dam on the Pecos River in Eddy County, New Mexico Eddy County is a List of counties in New Mexico, county located in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2020 United States cens ...
, which now serves as its primary storage, and a dam on the Black River near Malaga that provides additional capacity in that area. In addition to the two major dams, the district manages the major canals that distribute water to users, and the various gatehouses that control water flow. Its offices are located in the First Bank of Eddy building in downtown Carlsbad.


See also

* National Register of Historic Places listings in Eddy County, New Mexico *
List of National Historic Landmarks in New Mexico This is a complete List of National Historic Landmarks in New Mexico. New Mexico has 47 National Historic Landmarks (NHLs), including Raton Pass which is shared with Colorado, and listed by the National Park Service as in that state. Existing ...


References


External links


Carlsbad Irrigation District WebSiteCarlsbad Project
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United States Bureau of Reclamation The Bureau of Reclamation, formerly the United States Reclamation Service, is a federal agency under the U.S. Department of the Interior, which oversees water resource management, specifically as it applies to the oversight and operatio ...
* * * * * * * * * * {{National Register of Historic Places National Historic Landmarks in New Mexico Geography of Eddy County, New Mexico Water supply infrastructure on the National Register of Historic Places 1887 works Irrigation Districts of the United States Local government in New Mexico Historic American Engineering Record in New Mexico Industrial buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in New Mexico Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in New Mexico National Register of Historic Places in Eddy County, New Mexico