Western Colorado Area Office

This meeting was held in Farmington, New Mexico at the Civic Center. The meeting minutes, as mailed, as well as the meeting handouts are available in the archives. Meeting attendance is shown on the archived minutes.

The purpose of these meetings held annually in January, April, and August, -- is to gather input for determining upcoming operations for Navajo Reservoir. This input is used in Reclamation’s development of an overall 24-month study for operation of Reclamation projects in the Upper Colorado River Basin, which includes plans for Glen Canyon, Flaming Gorge, Aspinal Unit and Navajo. Input from individuals, organizations, and agencies along with other factors such as weather, water rights, endangered species requirements, flood control, hydro power, recreation, fish and wildlife management and reservoir levels, will be considered in the development of these reservoir operation plans. In addition, the meetings are used to coordinate activities and exchange information among agencies, water users, and other interested parties concerning the San Juan River and Navajo Reservoir.

The precipitation pattern over the 2009 water year was highly variable.  October and November had below average precipitation, but December was over 200% of average precipitation and helped to establish the snowpack for the remainder of the year.  Without the snow received in December, WY2009 could have been similar to WY2002.  January through March precipitation was much below average, but the snowpack remained steady to slightly increasing.  The months of April and May had near normal precipitation, but due to several severe dust on snow events and higher temperatures, the snowpack peaked in mid April and quickly declined in May.  The runoff year started in March in lower elevations, and peaked in mid May.  Virtually no snowpack remained by early June, but inflow was aided by a much wetter than average month.  The months of July and August had very dry conditions with very weak monsoonal flow.

The unregulated inflow for the 2009 April-July season was recorded at 659,129 acre-feet, or about 85 percent of average. The reservoir had a seasonal peak elevation of 6,073 feet on May 28, 2009.

A one week, 5,000 cfs spring peak release was made beginning with a ramp up on May 26, 2009, reaching 5,000 cfs on June 1st, and a ramp down from June 8th to June 12th.  The SJRIP Flow Recommendation called for no release, but the one week hydrograph was used to achieve a more manageable reservoir elevation, based on the inflow forecast at the time of the release.  The lower reservoir this year allowed for flexibility with a changing inflow forecast, and the final spring release decision was able to be fine-tuned and adjusted up until the mid May forecast was received.

As a result of a low, early runoff period in the San Juan River Basin, the only SJRIP Flow Recommendation statistic met was for 10 days of greater than 2,500 cfs.

 

The reservoir elevation on September 4, 2008 was 6,059.6 feet (93% of the 30-year average for the month of September) which corresponds to 1,343,108 acre-feet of live storage.  The reservoir is 79% of full capacity.  Inflow was approximately 290 cfs.  Current release to the San Juan River is 800 cfs.  The Navajo Indian Irrigation Project (NIIP) is currently diverting 520 cfs  through the NIIP headworks.

Updates of nearby reservoirs were given, including a brief update of the ALP project.

The most probable unregulated Ensemble Streamflow Prediction inflow forecast (ESP is based on historical data and long-range climate models) for water year 2010 is 943,000 af, which is 94% of the 30 year average.  The minimum probable forecast is 433,000 af, which is 43% of average, and the maximum probable forecast is 1,457,000 af, which is 145% of average. 

Based on the most probable ESP inflow forecast, a 3-week 5,000 cfs spring peak release would be implemented to achieve a manageable reservoir elevation at the end of water year 2010.

This is very preliminary and will likely change as updated forecasts become available.

Reclamation is currently analyzing the condition of the auxiliary outlet works gate, which has suffered some wear and tear over the last two years of spring peak releases.  The analysis, along with recommendations for addressing this issue, is scheduled to be completed by January 2010.

Nine of the ten water user entities have signed the 2009-2012 Recommendations for San Juan River Administration and Operation.  It is anticipated that the remaining entity will sign in the very near future.

Pete Valencia (Congressman Ben R. Lujan Office) – Public Law 111-11, aka the Northwestern New Mexico Rural Water Projects Act was recently enacted.  The Act authorizes (1) the Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project; (2) amendments to the Colorado River Storage Project (CRSP) Act and P.L. 87-483 which authorized the Navajo Indian Irrigation Project and San Juan-Chama Project as participating projects of the CRSP; (3) implementation of a Reclamation Water Settlements Fund; (4) provision for the use of the Navajo Nation Municipal Pipeline; (5) development of conjunctive use wells, and (6) rehabilitation of San Juan River Navajo irrigation projects and other non-Navajo irrigation projects

Jim Dumont (Senator Jeff Bingaman Office) – Senate Natural Resource Committee is concerned about the zebra mussel issue and is requesting funding for education and enforcement in New Mexico.

Paul Montoia (City of Farmington) – A tank for the Navajo Nation Municipal Pipeline, a feature of the Animas-La Plata Project, is under construction in Farmington.

Chris Landry (Center for Snow and Avalanche Studies/Colorado Dust on Snow) – There were 12 state wide dust on snow events this year.  These events affect the rate and timing of snowpack runoff.  CODOS is looking to expand their research and operations. 

Scheduled for 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday, January 26, 2010 at the Civic Center in Farmington, New Mexico (200 West Arrington Street).

Meeting Minutes (Portable Document Format (PDF)): View these minutes as mailed (includes attendance list)