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Time nears to fill Lake Nighthorse
Feds to concentrate on reservoir, recreation
Herald Staff Writer
Photo by Herald file photo
"This is a transition period between construction and filling and finalizing operations and maintenance contracts," Rick Ehat, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation construction engineer, told The Durango Herald Editorial Board on Wednesday. "There are a number of near-term and long-term issues to consider in the next 18 months."
In addition to filling the reservoir, the agency is planning the associated recreational activities.
The Colorado portion of the project consists of the 120,000-acre-foot reservoir at Ridges Basin southwest of Durango (the body of water is called Lake Nighthorse), a pumping station on the Animas River near Santa Rita Park, and a pipeline between the river and the reservoir. The New Mexico portion, on which work is beginning, includes a pipeline to supply Farmington, a 29-mile pipeline between Farmington and Shiprock, and storage tanks.
All work is expected to be complete by 2012.
Also briefing the Editorial Board were Pat Page, water management group chief, and Mark Chiarito, resource management specialist, both with the western Colorado Bureau of Reclamation office.
The anticipated March 1 start-of-filling depends on numerous related issues, Ehat said. Among them:
•Relocation of County Road 211, a power line and a gas line.
•Installation of a boat ramp and access road on the east shore of the lake.
•Installation of an intake at the basin for a project to provide water to the southwest corner of La Plata County.
•Sufficient available water and structural integrity of the Ridges Basin dam.
•Functional equipment at the pumping station.
Seasonal downstream water commitments also factor in the filling schedule, Ehat said. Gaging stations upstream and downstream from the pumping plant will determine how much water can be transferred to Lake Nighthorse.
"If pumping is done during spring runoff, the river won't even notice it," Ehat said.
"It's a balancing act to coordinate all efforts," Ehat said. "I'm not going to wait because I'm under mandate to finish this job as soon as possible."
Ehat was put in charge of construction after it was learned in 2003 that the cost of the project - controversial from the outset - had shot from $338 million to $500 million from overruns attributed to poor planning and other problems. Ehat pointed out Wednesday that the total estimated cost - $571 million when adjusted for inflation - is $10 million under upwardly revised estimates.
The capacity of Lake Nighthorse is slightly less than Vallecito Reservoir's 125,000 acre-feet, but it has a surface of 1,500 acres compared to Vallecito's 2,700 acres. Lake Nighthorse could be within a hair of being full by December, although 18 months to three years is considered a reasonable time to reach maximum capacity, Ehat said. The pumping station on the Animas has eight pumps - two able to move 14 cubic feet of water a second; two with capacity of 28 cfs; and four with a capacity of 56 cfs.
A cubic foot of water a second will provide almost 2 acre-feet in 24 hours. An acre-foot is enough water for the needs of two to four families, depending on use.
No matter how quickly filling occurs, the area is off-limits to the public until the job is done, Ehat said. Public safety dictates the restraints.
"We're trying as hard as possible to open," Ehat said. "But it has to be done in an orderly fashion."
Page is the liaison between the Bureau of Reclamation and A-LP sponsors. Colorado stakeholders are the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, the Southern Ute Indian Tribe, the Colorado Water Conservation Board, the Animas-La Plata Water Conservancy District, the Colorado Water Resources and Power Development Authority, and the city of Durango.
New Mexico partners are the Navajo Nation, the La Plata Water Conservancy District and the San Juan Water Commission.
Contracts for operations and maintenance will be signed with the partners and a management agency will be hired, Page said. The Native American tribes were not charged for construction costs, but they must foot their share of operations and maintenance, he said.
Chiarito said a boat ramp should be in place by the summer. But the full extent of recreation hasn't been determined, he said.
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