{"id":47454,"date":"2021-04-09T00:03:05","date_gmt":"2021-04-09T06:03:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/water-supply-wildfire-concerns-loom-over-spring-summer\/"},"modified":"2021-04-09T06:03:05","modified_gmt":"2021-04-09T06:03:05","slug":"water-supply-wildfire-concerns-loom-over-spring-summer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/water-supply-wildfire-concerns-loom-over-spring-summer\/","title":{"rendered":"Water supply, wildfire concerns loom over spring, summer"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Jarrod
Jarrod Biggs, city of Durango\u2019s assistant utilities director, says the city pulls water from its main source, the Florida River, while talking Wednesday at the newly revamped diversion site. Water taken from the river travels down a gravity-fed pipe for about 9.1 miles and then empties into the city reservoir.<\/span>Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Once again, Southwest Colorado\u2019s prolonged drought is expected to bring a host of challenges over available water and fire danger in the coming months.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m really worried about the conditions we have,\u201d said Durango Fire Protection District Chief Hal Doughty. \u201cIt\u2019s concerning what may happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before winter 2020-21, water managers and researchers were not optimistic it would be a heavy year for snowfall, and for the most part, those predictions have rung true.<\/p>\n

For most of the winter, snowpack totals never reached historic averages, peaking somewhere around 85% of normal, according to Snotel sites, which, it should be noted, cover only high-elevation areas.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been riding that line of mediocre snowpack all year,\u201d said Jarrod Biggs, city of Durango\u2019s assistant utilities director.<\/p>\n

\"It
It appears spring runoff has already started in the San Juan Mountains, where as of Thursday, snowpack levels were at 71% of average. Early runoff means longer fire seasons, as well as lower water supplies in summer months.<\/span>Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Now, warm weather in March and April has brought early season runoff, evidenced by the Animas River nearly tripling its flows over the past week. And as of Thursday, snowpack in Southwest Colorado was at just 71% of historic averages.<\/p>\n

To complicate matters, Peter Goble, a research associate with the Colorado Climate Center, said the dry, thirsty forest floor is expected to absorb a significant amount of the snowpack that\u2019s on the ground.<\/p>\n

As a result, researchers expect the Animas River will have just 50% to 70% of its normal flows for the year.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur recent summers have been so hot and dry,\u201d Goble said. \u201cWe\u2019ve been entering the last few snowpack years knowing we\u2019d need above-normal (snowpack) to get to normal runoff.\u201d<\/p>\n

All these dire conditions on the ground are going to pose serious challenges and questions to water managers and fire officials.<\/p>\n

\"Jarrod
Jarrod Biggs, city of Durango&#x2019;s assistant utilities director, said he has started talking with the city&#x2019;s largest water users about conservation measures should water reserves become low after spring runoff.<\/span>Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Biggs said city officials have already started conversations with Durango\u2019s biggest water users, such as Hillcrest Golf Club and the city\u2019s Parks and Recreation Department, about possible conservation measures.<\/p>\n

The city of Durango gets its water mainly from the Florida River, and when needed, the Animas River. But the city\u2019s reservoir is relatively small at 276 acre-feet (for comparison, Vallecito Reservoir is about 125,000 acre-feet).<\/p>\n

As a result, the city doesn\u2019t have the ability to store significant amounts of water, and instead chooses to weather drought years by asking its largest water users to cut back in times of low supply.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not watering restrictions, but we want to initiate the process,\u201d Biggs said. \u201cIs there a way you can get the same outcome with less water use?\u201d<\/p>\n

In the past, Durango has not taken more serious restrictions, such as prohibiting residents from watering their lawns, like other drought-strapped cities in the Southwest have, but that may change given prolonged drought in the region.<\/p>\n

But the city does charge higher rates for water use, which has driven some conservation, Biggs said. And the city has been thinking about other measures, such as paying people not to use water, which has been successful in Las Vegas.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not saying that\u2019s where Durango is headed,\u201d Biggs said. \u201cBut we\u2019ve been thinking how to launch a broader effort in that regard.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"The
The Florida River is Durango&#x2019;s main water source, but the city can pull from the Animas River when needed. Because of water shortages and a prolonged drought, city officials are also looking at using water stored in Lake Nighthorse.<\/span>Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

One other long-term goal, Biggs said, is to start using water in Lake Nighthorse, which was built to fulfill water rights for Native American tribes and downstream users. The city has also purchased water rights in the reservoir.<\/p>\n

The preferred option would be to pipe water from Lake Nighthorse to the city\u2019s water treatment plant at College Mesa, Biggs said, but another idea is to build a new water treatment plant farther downstream along the Animas River.<\/p>\n

Russ Howard, manager of the Animas-La Plata Operations and Maintenance Association, which manages Lake Nighthorse, said the 123,000-acre-foot reservoir should be full this spring.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe spent all those years getting the project built, and now member entities are starting to look at long-term planning to put this water to use,\u201d he said. \u201cEspecially with the drought lingering over our heads.\u201d<\/p>\n

Biggs said the city was able to withstand the drought in 2018, which by statistical data, was worse than the upcoming year. Still, factors such as wildfire can complicate the tried-and-true ways of surviving a drought year.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll do things we always do when it\u2019s dry,\u201d he said. \u201cBut at the same time, there\u2019s still some unknowns because it could be an unprecedented year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Indeed, Doughty said fire season has already arrived, evidenced by red-flag warning days issued in early April. Normally, he\u2019d have additional firefighters arrive in mid- to late May, but this year, those crews are showing up in April.<\/p>\n

\u201cLast year, we were holding our breath because it was incredibly dry and we are primed (this year) to have a very large fire, and we\u2019re trying to be prepared for that,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m worried about what the weather is going to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Goble said that while winter 2020-21 wasn\u2019t among the worst snowpack years like 2002 and 2018, the dry soils on the forest floor bring additional concerns.<\/p>\n

\"The
The city of Durango diverts water from the Florida River, which is stored in a reservoir near Fort Lewis College. Because the reservoir is relatively small, the city does not have the ability to store large amounts of water.<\/span>Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Early spring runoff, for example, is correlated to higher fire risks throughout the year, extending the state\u2019s fire season.<\/p>\n

Doughty, too, said this has an impact on firefighters.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think anyone in their right mind could ignore the fact our climate seems to be changing,\u201d he said. \u201cThis drought cycle we\u2019re in is really concerning and dangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n

Drought conditions will also undoubtedly affect irrigators this year, said Ken Beck, superintendent of Pine River Irrigation District, the agency that oversees Vallecito Reservoir northeast of Durango.<\/p>\n

Beck said \u201cit\u2019s rather bleak, but we\u2019re hopeful\u201d Vallecito Reservoir will fill this year, and as a result, it\u2019s likely it won\u2019t be possible to irrigate the full season.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s definitely going to have an impact on us,\u201d he said. \u201cPray, that\u2019s the message (to irrigators), pray for rain and snow.\u201d<\/p>\n

Goble said every winter has its themes, and this past season was no different.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would say the biggest theme out of this winter was, we weren\u2019t getting as much moisture per storm as we would have liked to see,\u201d he said. \u201cWe got storms, but we had a lot of trouble getting tapped into deep moisture systems.\u201d<\/p>\n

jromeo@durangoherald.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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