Carlsbad Irrigation District, Pecos River Flume, On Main Canal, .5 mile North of Carlsbad, Carlsbad, Eddy County, NM

Significance: The Pecos River Flume carries the main canal of the Carlsbad Irrigation District across the Pecos River Channel. The flume was designed by Thomas Taylor Johnston, a civil engineer from Chicago, and constructed in 1903 at a cost of $50,000. On completion, the 492-foot long by 47-foot high flume was the largest irrigation flume in the United States. Four pairs of arches support a massive concrete trough with a capacity of 15000 cubic feet of water per second. Floodwaters seriously damaged the flume a year after completion, washing out the banks at either end and undermining the foundation. After purchasing the privately-owned irrigation project, the U.S. Reclamation Service undertook extensive rehabilitation of the flume in 1906. The wingwalls were extended and the width of the foundations increased. The Civilian Conservation Corps added stone masonry cutwaters in 1939. Survey number: HAER NM-4-E National Register of Historic Places NRIS Number: 66000476