BLOOMFIELD, N.M. – The federal agency that oversees Navajo Dam on the San Juan River in northwestern New Mexico says downstream property owners should be prepared for water releases beginning in late May or early June.
The Daily Times reports there wasn’t a spring release of water from the dam last year and that the planned 2019 release of 5,000 cubic feet of water per second for five days will be shorter than 2017’s monthlong release and longer ones before that.
Bureau of Reclamation hydraulic engineer Susan Behery said property owners could notice flooding and that valuable items should be removed from the river banks.
The releases are intended to mimic natural runoff from snowmelt in the Colorado mountains and help reduce the dam’s effect on endangered species.
