After one of the warmest winters on record and a severely below-average snowpack, Southwest Colorado is heading into spring with a troubling water outlook.
“The outlook for this year is grim,” said Ken Beck, superintendent of Pine River Irrigation District
Although fall flooding helped fill Vallecito Reservoir to near capacity, Beck said the combination of extreme heat and a historically weak winter will likely offset those gains.
“This has been the warmest winter in 131 years,” he said, adding that the district’s hydrologist told him, “It isn’t just breaking records – it’s shattering them.”
While the reservoir is only a few feet from full, that storage may not last long without consistent inflows from snowmelt.
“There’s not enough in that reservoir to provide all of the irrigation needs without some sort of precipitation through the year,” Beck said.
If hot, dry conditions persist, the district may not have enough water to last through September, he warned.
The U.S. Drought Monitor classified most of Southwest Colorado in moderate, Stage 1 drought as of March 19, with portions of La Plata and Archuleta counties in severe, Stage 2. San Juan County is entirely in Stage 2 drought.
Snowpack in the Animas, Dolores, San Miguel and San Juan River Basin was significantly below the median as of March, according to the Natural Resources Conservation Service.
Snowpack at Cascade is at just 1% of the median, meaning the area has received almost none of its typical snow accumulation for this point in the season. Snowpack at Mollas Lake is at 37% of the median and at 34% for Vallecito Creek.
Concerns extend beyond the Pine River, and irrigators in the Animas Valley are just as worried as Beck.
“Right now, I would say we’re pretty concerned,” said Chara Ragland, secretary-treasurer of the Animas Valley Ditch and Water Company, which manages the Reid ditch.
The board met Monday to discuss potential scenarios amid low river levels and ongoing drought conditions.
“It seems pretty sure that water will be short at some point in time this summer,” Ragland said.
For now, much of the ditch remains offline for annual maintenance. Each spring, shareholders clean sediment, repair headgates and fix winter damage before water is sent through the full system.
The board hopes to have the ditch fully running by mid-April, which will provide a clearer picture of available supply.
In a typical year, the Reid Ditch diverts about 75 cubic feet per second at its headgate. But if the state’s regional water director determines flows in the Animas River are too low, irrigators could be ordered to reduce diversions, Ragland said.
One major unknown is whether the river will go “on call,” a legal process that prioritizes senior water rights.
“If the river goes on call, a call date is set, and any water rights junior to that date would be curtailed,” she said.
For Reid Ditch users, that could significantly reduce supply. If, for example, 40% of the ditch’s water rights fall junior to the call date, only about 60% of the usual 75 cfs could be diverted.
And, Ragland said, even without a formal call, low river levels could limit diversions, because – unlike some systems – the Ditch relies entirely on gravity, not pumps.
“A headgate is basically – you open it, and water flows in,” she said. “There has to be enough water in the river to reach the headgate.”
The City of Durango has already begun asking some of its largest water users – including the city itself and Hillcrest Golf Course – to implement voluntary cutbacks, said Tom Sluis, city spokesman.
If voluntary measures are insufficient, the public works director could recommend a formal drought declaration to the city manager, who would determine the appropriate response stage, he said.
Durango’s water system serves about 21,000 residents and businesses, and is supplied primarily from the Florida River, according to the city’s 2021 Water Master Plan. When necessary, the city can supplement from the Animas River.
The city also holds rights to about 3,800 acre-feet of water from Lake Nighthorse, though it currently lacks the infrastructure to access that supply. Sluis said the city is in ongoing discussions with Animas-La Plata Project users regarding storage rights and water access.
If drought conditions worsen and water supply dwindles, restrictions would be implemented, Sluis said. One of the first things residents should expect to see are dirtier city vehicles, less street sweeping and less watering on city parks, he added.
As pressures mount on both agricultural and urban water users, Ragland cautioned against framing the issue as a fight between farmers and city residents.
“Sometimes people pigeonhole agriculturalists and city dwellers. At some point, we’re all trying to make good decisions about water that’s going to be in short supply,” she said. “There’s not really any good guys and bad guys. We’re just all trying to deal with what we have in terms of water.”
jbowman@durangoherald.com
