The water level at Elephant Butte Lake is still considerably low, and El Paso Water Utilities officials said they will continue to monitor the situation.

The lake, which supplies water to EPWU and its customers, is less than 4 percent full of water. EPWU officials said they will use social media as an outlet for photos and videos that demonstrate the drought's impact on the lake.

During the summer, half of the EPWU's water supply comes from wells in the city, while the rest is retrieved from the water released into the Rio Grande from Elephant Butte Lake, officials said.

Officials said that less river water will be available to El Paso than usual due to the continued drought in New Mexico and Colorado.
 
"El Paso Water Utilities plans to make up the difference by relying more heavily on well water," said John E. Balliew, president and CEO of EPWU. "We're preparing by drilling new wells and building new pipelines to more efficiently move that water around the city."

Officials said rain and snowfall during the winter months in Colorado and New Mexico are what makes up much of the water stored at Elephant Butte Lake.

"The bottom line is that we expect less river water again this year," he said. "For now, it's just too early to know how much less."

For drought updates and tips on how to conserve water, visit http://epwu.org/conservation/ or http://lessismore.org/.