The Pagosa Area Water and Sanitation District (PAWSD) Board of Directors voted to exit drought stage two and to reenter voluntary drought due to improving drought conditions at its Oct. 9 meeting.
The shift to the voluntary drought stage removes the restrictions on irrigation timing and rate multipliers for high levels of water use present in drought stage two, effective immediately.
PAWSD District Engineer/Manager Justin Ramsey explained to the board that changes in river levels and other conditions had moved PAWSD from drought stage two to either drought stage one or the voluntary drought stage, according to the district’s drought management plan.
He added that, due to predictions of heavy rain in the near future and the expectation that the district would begin receiving water flow into Lake Hatcher on Oct. 31 at the latest, he would recommend placing the district in voluntary drought.
Ramsey stated that the district manager can have the district enter or exit voluntary drought stage at his discretion and that he would likely have the district exit voluntary drought after water resumes flowing into Lake Hatcher.
PAWSD board member Glenn Walsh asked if the district had seen that the voluntary drought stage had a minimal impact on water use compared to the additional fees imposed at higher drought stages.
Ramsey and PAWSD Programs Manager Renee Lewis confirmed that this was the case and that use had declined significantly after the first bills following the district entering drought stage two were released.
Ramsey stated that he is working on forming a committee to look at potential drought management plan modifications in 2026, noting that, although the plan “worked as designed,” some minor modifications might be desirable.
He commented that he would recommend forming another committee at the beginning of 2026 to examine minor changes.
Walsh commented that he would want different people to be on the committee compared to the last committee that worked on the drought management plan to provide fresh perspectives.
The board then voted unanimously to enter the voluntary drought stage.
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