At its March 13 meeting, the Pagosa Area Water and Sanitation District (PAWSD) Board of Directors heard a presentation on the district’s drought management plan.
District Engineer/Manager Justin Ramsey presented the plan, noting that PAWSD board member Glenn Walsh had requested a presentation due to the low snowpack level.
Ramsey stated that the district’s historical drought management plan was based on water levels in all of PAWSD’s lakes and the river, whether the district could use this water or not.
He noted that this plan’s threshold for drought was too high and it would only come into effect in the fall when PAWSD could access water from its water rights and thus did not have a shortage.
To address these issues, Ramsey stated that the district revamped the plan in 2021 to include a series of drought stages designed to curtail irrigation of lawns and other areas, which he stated is the primary use of water in the summer.
He explained that the plan includes two ways for the district to enter drought management, including two early drought approaches based on low snowpack levels in the mountains and on when the district is called to curtail its use of its water rights on Fourmile Creek, which is a main source for the district’s water supply.
He stated that the snowpack approach is based on data provided by SNOTEL monitoring on the Continental Divide.
PAWSD is about 12th in line for use of water on Fourmile Creek, Ramsey explained, and the district typically has to curtail its use by June 11 of each year, after which point new water is not entering Lake Hatcher and its water level begins to drop.
He stated that, if the call on this right is early, it can cause the district to enter various drought stages depending on how early the call occurs.
Ramsey added that drought based on one of these conditions is very likely to happen in 2025.
If neither early drought approach is triggered, the district determines drought later in the season based on a weighted equation based on lake and river levels, Ramsey explained.
He stated that the district has a voluntary drought stage as well as three additional, nonvoluntary drought stages.
Placing the district in a nonvoluntary drought stage requires board action, Ramsey explained, as does changing the drought stage or removing the district from it.
He stated that the level one voluntary drought stage involves public outreach, with the goal of reducing water demand by 10 percent.
At level two, irrigation is not allowed during the middle of the day, Ramsey explained.
At level three, irrigation is only allowed on odd or even days depending on address and cannot be done in the middle of the day, he stated, adding that this level also includes increases in the district’s tiered rates to charge customers who use large amounts of water more.
At level four, irrigation can only occur one day a week with similar time restrictions to previous levels, while all irrigation is banned at drought level five, Ramsey explained.
PAWSD board member Jim Smith noted that Pagosa Springs Golf Club is provided 300 acre feet a year of water by PAWSD and asked Ramsey if this drought plan would apply to it.
Ramsey stated it is exempted from the drought management plan by the agreement between it and the district, and that PAWSD would have to supply water to the course and it could continue watering even in severe drought.
Ramsey explained that the district will issue written warnings to customers on their first violation of the plan if the district is in stage two through five drought and would charge escalating fines for each subsequent offense up to $500.
However, he stated that he is unsure how well this system would work.
The board then briefly discussed how well residents would adhere to this system, with the board agreeing that most residents would likely work to conserve water even though some might not.
Ramsey explained that the high levels of water use during drought would be charged between two and four times the standard rate at drought stages three through five.
He added that the district has somewhat different rules for commercial water users.
Ramsey then presented data on the district’s current water situation, noting that the area’s snow water equivalent levels and precipitation were at about 60 percent of average at the time of the meeting.
He predicted that the district’s water from Fourmile Creek would likely be cut off early.
The board briefly discussed revising the drought management plan to include escalating charges for water haulers using large amounts of water during drought, which it agreed to consider at a future time.
PAWSD board member Bill Hudson asked if the district’s water rights in the West Fork of the San Juan River are cut off in summer similar to the rights on Fourmile Creek.
Ramsey stated that they are not due to being more senior, and Hudson proposed that the district could use its Snowball Water Treatment Plan to provide water supply in times of drought.
Ramsey explained that the district would need to install a pump station to move water to its uptown area from the downtown area supplied by the Snowball plant.
He added that doing this would give the district additional flexibility to respond to drought and other emergencies.
The presentation ended with Smith thanking Ramsey for his information.
josh@pagosasun.com
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