{"id":38574,"date":"2022-09-02T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-09-02T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/durango-to-explore-pipeline-from-lake-nighthorse-to-terminal-reservoir\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T08:45:23","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T08:45:23","slug":"durango-to-explore-pipeline-from-lake-nighthorse-to-terminal-reservoir","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/durango-to-explore-pipeline-from-lake-nighthorse-to-terminal-reservoir\/","title":{"rendered":"Durango to explore pipeline from Lake Nighthorse to Terminal Reservoir"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Jason
Jason Fast, left, water facilities supervisor for the city of Durango, and Justin Elkins, Durango utilities director, look over Terminal Reservoir on Thursday, which holds about 10 days of water usage for the city. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>Jerry McBride<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Durango has always relied on the active flows of the Florida and Animas rivers for its water, but with aging infrastructure, mine spills, wildfires and the problems of drought-prone areas, it might be time to tap Lake Nighthorse.<\/p>\n

Allison Baker, Durango public works director, told City Council in August that the Colorado Water Conservation Board had identified the Pagosa Springs-Bayfield-Durango corridor as lacking in access to water storage at reservoirs such as Lake Nighthorse outside Durango.<\/p>\n

Specifically, reservoirs with municipal water lack the infrastructure to deliver that water to treatment plants and distribution systems, Baker said. This could prove problematic because of rapid growth and development in Durango and other areas, in addition to the four major risk factors that could threaten water supplies at virtually any time.<\/p>\n

The proposed solution is a new water pipeline from Lake Nighthorse to Durango\u2019s Terminal Reservoir, on College Mesa, which stores water short term until it is pumped into the city\u2019s treatment facility and made ready for use. The pipeline would allow the city to access its share of water at Lake Nighthorse in the event its access to the Florida or Animas rivers is compromised or those waters become unavailable or unsafe for use.<\/p>\n

City Council approved an allocation of $500,000 to the city\u2019s water fund for a feasibility study and a preliminary design report. Justin Elkins, Durango utilities manager, said on Thursday he hopes the study will be completed by the end of the year.<\/p>\n

He said the feasibility study is intended to determine if a pipeline from Lake Nighthorse to Terminal Reservoir can be installed and, assuming it can be, what materials would be used and the size of the pipe; where it would be installed; any land-use or zoning obstacles; and how much the project would cost.<\/p>\n

The study will also examine if Durango is using its water in the most efficient way or if it will need to adapt in the future, he said.<\/p>\n

\"The
The city of Durango holds water rights in Lake Nighthorse and is now exploring how to access that water and get it to Terminal Reservoir on the northeast side of Durango. City Council approved $500,000 for a feasibility study and a preliminary design report for a potential pipeline. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>Jerry McBride<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cFrom the two watersheds that we draw from \u2013 the Animas and the Florida watersheds \u2013 we do have statistically significant reduction over the past 20 water years in precipitation, in total runoff, in the watershed\u2019s ability to convert runoff,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Baker said at the City Council meeting Aug. 2 that the downward trend started in 1980.<\/p>\n

\u201cPersonally, what I look at more than the trends \u2026 is that there is a lot of extreme years where we are extremely high or extremely low (in precipitation),\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Where would the pipeline go?<\/div>\n

One goal of the feasibility study is to figure out a pipeline\u2019s optimal location. The pipeline would have to traverse elevation changes between Lake Nighthorse and Terminal Reservoir.<\/p>\n

Elkins said there are essentially two options for a pipeline: One would lead out from Lake Nighthorse down County Road 210. Another option is to direct the pipe out of the southwest side of the lakeacross land belonging to the Bureau of Reclamation.<\/p>\n

But that comes with its own set of problems.<\/p>\n