FARMINGTON – The San Juan Water Commission “decided to test the system” and request a release from Lake Nighthorse to see if water can be collected for San Juan County, New Mexico, residents.
Construction on Lake Nighthorse began in 2003 to provide water storage for Native American tribes as well as water-right holders in New Mexico, by diverting water out of the Animas River and pumping it uphill to the reservoir southwest of Durango.
Lake Nighthorse was considered filled in 2009, but ever since, there’s never been a call on water from downstream users that would prompt a release.
At the commission’s Wednesday meeting, board members gave Aaron Chavez, director of the San Juan Water Commission, permission to request a release.
“But criteria has to happen,” he told The Durango Herald. “All the stars have to align in order to make this release happen.”
Those figurative stars include ensuring the Animas River is at the right flow height, monitoring storm possibilities and making sure members of the board have the capacity to take on the water deposits in their respective areas.
Chavez said the commission is made up of the cities of Aztec, Bloomfield and Farmington; the government of San Juan County; as well as the San Juan County Rural Water Users Association.
Chavez said releasing water in the winter with the water levels low, mimics how things would go in the summer if there were a release.
The board will know if it can make the release in March with a couple weeks’ notice to “make sure everything is in order,” so all involved are notified, including some organizations such as the Colorado and New Mexico offices of the state engineer as well as the Animas-La Plata Operations and Maintenance Association.
David Sypher, community works director for the city of Farmington and an alternate committee member of the San Juan Water Commission, added that to do it in March would be better because it would be before snowmelt runoff.
The Animas River has been setting record low flows, largely a result of prolonged drought in the region. The Animas recorded its lowest flow ever in December at a gauge in Durango that has been in operation for 110 years, shattering the previous low of 94 cubic feet per second set in March 1913.
At its lowest point, the river was running at 79.6 cfs on Christmas Day, as well as the day after.
As of Monday, the Animas was flowing around 94 cfs, breaking the record low flow for that day in recorded history, which was previously 110 cfs set in 1933.
“This would give us an opportunity to see how the river would react if we made a release in the summer,” Chavez said.
Chavez said one major benefit to the release would be that the board can get baseline data in the project and will be able to see how long it would take for water to be moved from Lake Nighthorse to whatever diversion area it would need to go to. He added that it will also be able to measure the loss of water that occurs when the water goes through the Animas River.
He said he doesn’t see any cons to the release and thinks “this is a positive idea.”
mmitchell@durangoherald.com
