The Pagosa Area Water and Sanitation District (PAWSD) customers remain under stage one drought restrictions this week, and Fourmile Creek entering administration on April 27 means that levels in PAWSD reservoirs will soon start to decline.
In a memorandum, PAWSD District Engineer Justin Ramsey explains that the median date for the creek to enter administration, which means that water supply to PAWSD is cut off due to senior water users not receiving the full amount of water decreed in their water rights, is June 15.
Water diverted from this creek feeds Lake Hatcher and other reservoirs in the PAWSD system, and Ramsey notes that levels in the Hatcher, Stevens Reservoir and other uptown lakes will start to drop.
He adds that the early date of the administration on the creek will contribute to the district remaining in drought stage one.
Lake Hatcher and the water treatment plant located near it is one of PAWSD’s primary sources of water, but the district also diverts water from the San Juan River for processing at the Snowball Water Treatment Plant, which primarily serves downtown Pagosa Springs, and the San Juan plant, which is located at PAWSD main wastewater treatment plant on Vista Boulevard and is used as a backup or to provide extra water supply during the summer for the uptown area.
Stage one restrictions
During drought stage one, irrigation is permitted only between 6 p.m. and 9 a.m., and residential customers who use more than 5,000 gallons of water a month will have a 1.25 times rate multiplier applied to their water bills.
According to the PAWSD website, the imposition of this multiplier will begin to impact customer bills received in May, although the irrigation restrictions started previously.
The plan notes that gardens may be hand watered using a hose or drip irrigation.
The drought plan also encourages restaurants to conserve water by only serving water to customers at their request, and hotels are encouraged to replace towels and bed linens only for new guests and at the request of existing guests.
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