[Editor’s Note: The Grant County Commission work session on Sept. 6 and the regular meeting on Sept. 8, were both long meetings, so this series of articles will be numerous. Part 6 begins with proclamations and public input at the regular meeting. The previous articles are linked at the bottom of this article.]
By Mary Alice Murphy
The first item addressed a proclamation read at the Grant County Commission regular meeting on Sept. 8, 2022, to name October 2022 as Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
Rachel Sierra, director of El Refugio Inc. domestic violence victim shelter, handed the schedule of events planned in October to the commissioners. She noted that between 2011-2016, each year had had a domestic violence murder, with two in 2011 and three in 2021. “Because of Covid, there was a lot of isolation, with victims not reaching out for help.”
The first event will take place at 9 a.m. Monday, Oct. 3, at the Woman’s Club where the proclamation will be read. “We will have two families there, one who will testify to how helpful law enforcement is in helping them and transporting them to the shelter. The final event will take place Oct. 27 with a candlelight ceremony, ‘Remember My Name.’ Oct. 10 will feature ‘Paint the Town Purple.’ Domestic violence happens all through every year. Children are also being abused. We continue to walk the walk in taking care of people.”
In public input, Rose Shoemaker, who had previously addressed the commissioners about the Gila Community Center, said: “I want to thank you for your quick emergency response to the flooding we had in Gila and Cliff. I want to give you a broader horizon to what goes on along the river and in Mimbres, too. I have four cabins on my property, along with three cows and four horses. My guests come from all over the country. I also have four ponds, which are great habitat for wildlife. When the irrigation ditches washed out in the flood, I can no longer fill my ponds, so we lose visitors and habitat. I have had between 900 and 1200 visitors from around the country, and actually the world. For lodgers’ tax, I pay around $3,000 a year. To a man, they also spend money in Silver City, where they grocery shop. So, they are contributing to the county’s coffers. Little drops go into and fill a big bucket.”
David Ogilvie, chairman of the Gila Basin Irrigation Commission, also spoke to the commissioners. “I thank you for your speedy response on the emergency. This August in the Cliff-Gila Valley, we have had a series of flood events that have been quite devastating. We formed our group years ago to have a voice in the AWSA (Arizona Water Settlements Act) process. We’re at the forefront on acequias. After the flood, we hosted a field trip to see the damage. Commissioner Billy Billings, Rep. Luis Terrazas and Sen. Siah Hemphill came out. Priscilla Lucero (Southwest New Mexico Council of Governments executive director) and your emergency manager (Justin Gojkovich) were fast at getting together a meeting on funding resources to repair the damage. We couldn’t visit all the areas damaged because of the high water and access to the river. Our concern is the re-establishment of our diversions. The situation affects a lot of people, not just the farmers and ranchers, but also people like Rose. The extensive damage will be hard to do ourselves. The governor did declare a disaster. I met with the New Mexico Acequias Association and told them three diversions were extremely damaged. Thank you for your emergency declaration. Your involvement is imperative for the diversions to recover.”
Don Stailey, an 80-year resident on the Gila River, said he has seen catastrophes. “This is about No. 4, but it is higher in the damages to diversions. I was a commissioner on those ditches for 41 years. We have helped get funding to replace head gates in the past, but I’m not sure how at this point we’re going to get water into the ditches. The flooding took water away from our growing season. Other years, flooding has been in January, February and late September. We appreciate your doing the emergency declaration and holding the meeting to learn about funding sources. Thank you.”
Nicole Williams also thanked the commissioners for taking time to receive public input on the urgent need to address catastrophic and increasing flooding in the Gila Valley. “I moved here a little over a year ago to start a restorative homestead and farm with my partner. I’m a soil health expert, champion and advocate, a concerned community member and a licensed real estate broker in the area.”
She said although they had not personally suffered any severe damage to property other than a flooded shed, “I have learned a lot about the frequency, severity and impact of the periodic flooding events in this valley. This knowledge has come mainly through helping my community apply for a grant from the New Mexico Soil and Water Conservation Commission to reconstruct, stabilize and plant the banks of lower Bear Creek around where it crosses NM-211 near Cliff/Gila.”
Williams noted the lower Bear Creek drainage is a large, sand-wash type and is prone to large floodwater runoff events. She said the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) models predict an increase in the severity of flood events, “unless we act now to restore and strengthen our banks for better flood protection and overall watershed health.”
She said efforts to contain the floodwaters in the banks of lower Bear Creek have been in effect since as early as 1945, with locals having constructed earthen berms. They protect at least 12 landholders and their families, as well as 10 irrigation rights holders. They also protect about 740 acres of adjacent homes, farm fields and structures built in the floodplain. She said locals have told there they have to replace the berms every five to 10 years at a personal cost of $5,000-$10,000 for the dozer work to complete the repairs. “That is a total cost of between $40- and$150,000 that citizens have paid from their own pockets to repair flood damage and prevent further damage to their property and livelihoods. …If these protective berms are not reconstructed and strengthened as immediately as possible, it is very likely that future flood events will cause even more catastrophic damage to human life and livelihood, to real and personal property, and potentially to public infrastructure.”
She recommended the commission act quicky to help find and secure funding for projects to repair and strengthen the banks of creeks in the Gila Valley, “using techniques like revetment fence installation, native plant re-introduction, and construction of permeable earthen dams along the banks. I ask you to offer any support you can in planning and administering these projects, and I also ask that you make a point to understand and promote the best available techniques for floodwater mitigation and watershed restoration, and to help initiate innovative, yet simple management techniques to better protect this valley now and for the future.”
Autumn Bruton, who said she owns a small farm on the Gila River, said the reason all of the speakers and others who did not speak are at the meeting is to point out that when the diversions washed out, irrigation is no longer possible. She said if they in the Gila Valley are able to get FEMA funding, “please support Justin in helping us figure that out. It’s hard to figure out what’s out there. Governmental programs are complicated and not easy to access. Nor are they timely. Plus, there is a lot of miscommunication.”
“It’s really important for all the commissioners to hear how many people are impacted by this flooding,” Bruton continued. “It is most critical to get the river infrastructure back in place. God Bless Priscilla Lucero, but we don’t have 18 months to wait to get the infrastructure back in place. It’s the same in Mimbres. Everything has been impacted. We’re doing what we can, but we need your help. Thank you for letting me talk.”
Leah Villarreal said she owns a ranch with her husband Brian in the Gila Valley. “The Villarreal and Dominguez families for generations, more than 140 years, have carved out a living alongside the Gila. We raise livestock and feed on our irrigated acres. We also have a small market garden, where we are focused on providing local, organically grown produce to the Silver City Farmers’ Market. As manager of the Silver City Farmer’s Market, I understand that six of my vendors also rely on the Gila River for its life-giving water. We provide food to more than 1,000 residents through the farmer’s markets, restaurants and also to the Mimbres and as far as Reserve, Alma and Glenwood, including Gila and Cliff. I’m the treasurer on the Fort West Ditch. The flooding buried our diversion, and it will take enormous equipment to remove the thousands of yards of soil, trees and dirt cutting us off from the river. We were planning to put in a winter crop next week, but now we can’t. We cannot wait another week. We and others are hauling water to our cattle and using our wells. The arroyos all up and down the river would normally flow into the Gila River. But it is my understanding that the Army Corps of Engineers built dams in them to slow the water. They are empty most of the year and only hold water for the sole purpose of slowing the water to the Gila River. They are integral to the bridge on NM 211 and to the bridge on highway 180. This bridge was destroyed in the 1970s cutting us off for two weeks, and it happened again last week for four days. We seek relief and sustainable solutions to provide us the life-nourishing water the Gila River provides us while protecting both life and property of the citizens of Cliff and Gila.”
Andrea Warner said she was the Silver City Farmers’ markets manager for five years and now is part of the New Mexico Farmers’ Markets Association. “The fires and floods this year have impacted the food supply. Our vendors cannot irrigate their crops. Our Silver City Farmers’ Markets take EBT cards providing food for the most vulnerable. We have 14 vendors, and six are on one of the ditches on the Gila River. Since 2016, the markets have brought in $228,000 on the EBT cards; in 2021, we brought in $70,000 and so far in 2022, $40,000 on the EBT cards. If the vendors can’t irrigate, that food won’t come into our market. Vendors spend that money in our community. The flooding impacted not only the growers and ranchers, it is affecting the whole community.”
The next article will get into presentations from Gila Regional Medical Center and Sheriff Frank Gomez, and perhaps get into the agenda for the regular meeting.
For the previous articles, please visit: https://www.grantcountybeat.com/news/news-articles/74190-grant-county-commission-holds-work-session-090622-part-1 ; https://www.grantcountybeat.com/news/news-articles/74224-grant-county-commission-holds-work-session-090622-part-2; https://www.grantcountybeat.com/news/news-articles/74257-grant-county-commission-holds-work-session-090622-part-3;https://www.grantcountybeat.com/news/news-articles/74283-grant-county-commission-holds-work-session-090622-part-4; and https://www.grantcountybeat.com/news/news-articles/74382-grant-county-commission-holds-work-session-090622-and-regular-meeting-090822-part-5 .