And Lemon Reservoir, which has a capacity of about 40,145 acre-feet, is hovering around 6,625 acre-feet. The reservoir, also northeast of Durango, hit a low of about 5,670 acre-feet in the first week of October.<\/p>\n
Efforts to reach the Florida Water Conservancy District, as well as the Florida Ditch Co., both of which deal with water out of Lemon Reservoir, were unsuccessful.<\/p>\n
McPhee Reservoir gained 2,000 acre-feet in October due to recent rains in the Dolores River Basin, said Mike Preston, general manager for the Dolores Water Conservancy District. The reservoir is currently holding about 169,000 acre-feet, with just 19,000 acre-feet of active storage. The inactive pool is 151,000 acre-feet.<\/p>\n
This time last year the carryover into the next water year was 137,000 acre-feet of active storage, thanks to the above average previous winter of 2016-2017. But the historic dry winter of 2017-2018 produced less than 50 percent of average snowpack, and farmers survived off of the previous year\u2019s carryover storage. A full active storage supply for McPhee is 240,000 acre-feet.<\/p>\n
Preston said there are two encouraging factors going into this winter. First soil moisture levels for the foothills and mountains are improved compared to last year\u2019s deficit at this time, so when the snowpack releases in Spring, more of it will drain into the reservoir rather than into the soil. Second, the El Ni\u00f1o weather phenomenon is setting up in the Equatorial Pacific, which tends to push storms on a more southerly track with a better chance of hitting Southwest Colorado.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe used up all of our carryover this year, so we need an average to above average winter to meet allocations,\u201d he said. \u201cA good foundation of soil moisture has been laid down and that sets the stage for building a good snowpack for the reservoir. We already have snowpack above 10,000 feet.\u201d<\/p>\n
PRID\u2019s Canterbury, however, said Vallecito is gaining ground.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs long as we get some snow, we have a good drainage and we should recover pretty quickly,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
In a normal water year, water managers will set releases out of Vallecito Reservoir to about 30 cubic feet per second \u2013 the lowest level that can generate hydroelectric power.<\/p>\n
But this year, because there was not enough water to go around, Canterbury said releases will be set to about 5 cfs, which will set the dam into a \u201cfree spin\u201d \u2013 meaning it\u2019s not generating power.<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce we do that, we ought to start filling even better,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd of course, we\u2019ll keep doing our rain dance.\u201d<\/p>\n
Warren Gabbert, water commissioner for with Colorado Division 7 of Water Resources, said ditches supplied by Vallecito Reservoir ran about 70 to 80 percent of what they would normally run in a good water year.<\/p>\n
A strong snowpack in 2017 provided some much-needed carryover for this year, he said. But still, water managers had to enact restrictions for water-right users, giving more priority to more senior water-right holders.<\/p>\n This month\u2019s rain has definitely helped, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re a week to 10 days ahead of schedule for snow-water moisture in the high country at this time,\u201d Gabbert said. \u201cRight now, it\u2019s looking good, as long as it continues.\u201d<\/p>\n Aside from storing as much water as possible, and strategically planning water releases, the rest is pretty much up to Mother Nature, Gabbert said.<\/p>\n \u201cRight now, we\u2019re just trying to gain back as much water as we can, as quickly as we can,\u201d he said. \u201cBut Mother Nature is the driving force in all of that. You wait and see, then you cross the bridge when you get there in terms of what you need to do.\u201d<\/p>\n Calls to Gabbert\u2019s counterpart for Lemon Reservoir, Tom Fiddler, were not returned Friday.<\/p>\n Lake Nighthorse appears to be one of the fullest reservoirs, if not the fullest, in the state of Colorado. As of Wednesday, the reservoir was at 112,186 acre-feet, which is about 93 percent full.<\/p>\n Calls to Jarrod Biggs, the city of Durango\u2019s utilities director, to find out the city\u2019s reservoir level, were not returned.<\/p>\n PRID\u2019s Canterbury said predictions for a moisture-heavy El Ni\u00f1o weather pattern this winter are a hopeful sign.<\/p>\n \u201cJust seeing the snow up there makes me feel better,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n