New Mexico border wall crews told to halt well drilling after ranchers’ drought concerns
US border patrol has ordered contractors building a border wall in New Mexico to stop drilling new wells, after local ranchers warned that groundwater pumping for concrete could worsen drought impacts on their livestock. At least six unpermitted wells were found along the border, according to state officials.
Construction crews working on a border wall in New Mexico have been ordered to cease drilling new wells, following complaints from ranchers who fear that drawing underground water to make concrete could harm their animals during an intense drought.
The directive comes as workers across the southern US border rush to complete one of President Donald Trump’s main domestic goals: barriers spanning four states that have received more than $46bn in federal money. The project has already stirred disputes in Texas and California, with border-town residents and environmentalists reporting a range of problems.
At a public meeting in July, ranchers said they had seen uncontrolled tapping of aquifers near the border, threatening water supplies for people and livestock. Russell Johnson, a cattle rancher whose property lies along the border, said the situation would be an immediate catastrophe and could put some ranching operations out of business. Johnson had noticed an industrial well on land he leases for grazing; drilling crews told him it would pump 300 gallons a minute, while his own 12 wells produce only three to seven gallons a minute.
Another rancher at the meeting said that whatever happened at that well would affect everyone in the basin. He also said that, based on conversations with border patrol, he believed the agency did not really understand how an aquifer works.
On Monday, a spokesperson for Customs and Border Protection (CBP) told the Associated Press that border wall contractors in New Mexico had been instructed to stop drilling new wells. In a statement, CBP said it was committed to collaborating with local landowners to ensure construction activities do not adversely affect their water needs.
Earlier, CBP had said water was necessary for producing concrete, building roads, erecting barriers and controlling dust at construction sites. However, the New Mexico state engineer’s office, which monitors and approves wells statewide, told NPR last month that it had counted at least six wells being developed along the border, none of which had the permits required by state law. The office warned that there could be more. Inspectors who visited two wells in July found them pumping 200 gallons per minute.
The state engineer’s office said all non-tribal wells in New Mexico, whether on state or federal land, must obtain permits before they can be drilled or water can be pumped.
