Tucamari, New Mexico
The US Burea of reclamation manages many water water projects in the western United States. The Tucumcari Project, has about 41,000 acres of irrigable land. The project includes the Conchas Dam and Reservoir (constructed by the Corps of Engineers), Conchas and Hudson Canals, and a distribution and drainage system. Some of the lands in the project area have been in cultivation for 145 years but residents of Quay and San Miguel Counties primarily have been livestock producers. Construction of the irrigation system began in 1940 and continued to December 1942, when work was suspended by the War Production Board. The project was reauthorized in April 1944 as a war emergency food project. First water was delivered to project lands in 1946 and construction was essentially completed in 1950.
