Delinquent Farm Rate Account Options

Dear Valued Constituent:

As long as you have water-righted acreage, you are legally responsible for paying the annual EBID assessments. If you fail to pay assessments, you are not entitled to order or use water. However, if you do not order or use water, you are still liable for the assessment every year. EBID offers several options to resolve this matter.

1. Pay the balance due in full. If you wish to retain the water rights on your property, you must pay the full amount of the cumulative assessments. Once paid, you will be entitled to irrigate your property again with EBID water. Until the assessments are paid, you cannot use EBID water.

2. Sell the water to other EBID constituents. Water is in short supply and high demand within the District. EBID can assist constituents in selling the water allocated to their account. EBID accounts must be paid, and this can be accomplished by allowing other EBID constituents to pay your past due account, acquire the water and transfer it to their account for use during the irrigation season. This opportunity provides for current paid status of your account, maintaining the water rights appurtenant to your land, yet allowing opportunity for use of the water by other EBID constituents.

Constituents interested in selling water should contact the EBID tax department to indicate their desire in selling water. Constituents interested in purchasing water may contact the EBID tax department and obtain the name of constituents that have indicated an interest in selling water.

3. Voluntary Suspension of the water rights on your property. The District does allow, under certain circumstances, the voluntary suspension of water rights on your land and their transfer to other lands within District boundaries. This is a simple process, requiring your signature on the EBID Voluntary Suspension Form agreeing to the suspension of water rights on your property. This process releases you of the debt created by unpaid assessments and terminates the water rights on your property. Following the approval of a suspension and transfer by the EBID Board of Directors, you would no longer be liable for the EBID assessment on your property and the water rights appurtenant to your property will be terminated.

4. Property Foreclosure. EBID may also decide to file suit against you to collect all past due assessments. Since this is an open account under New Mexico law, EBID will be entitled to recover all its attorney fees and court costs in this lawsuit.

Ultimately, the assessments owed to EBID have already created a lien against your property and this lien will not be released until the assessments are paid in full. If the assessments remain unpaid, future annual assessments will continue to be added to the amount owed, increasing the lien until all assessments are paid in full. EBID may choose to foreclose its lien and force the payment of the assessments out of the sale of your property.

5. Stream Adjudication. Elephant Butte Irrigation District urges you to consider the importance of keeping the surface water rights secure while the Lower Rio Grande stream adjudication case is under litigation. Failure to pay the annual assessments can certainly weaken the case in upholding the surface water rights attached to your property.