The Pagosa Area Water and Sanitation District (PAWSD) Board of Directors voted at a July 31 special meeting to immediately enter stage two drought under the district’s drought management plan due to low water levels in area rivers and other concerns.
At the meeting, PAWSD District Engineer/Manager Justin Ramsey explained that drought stages for PAWSD are based on water levels in Hatcher Reservoir, which is used to supply water to the uptown Pagosa Springs area; water levels in the San Juan River, which is used to supply water to the downtown area; and what the state drought stage for the area is.
He stated that the heaviest weight in the drought calculation is on the level of Hatcher Lake, the second heaviest weight is on the San Juan River and the third heaviest is on the state drought stage.
Ramsey noted that Hatcher is in “really good shape,” largely due to the pipeline from Fourmile Creek that supplies the lake with water being turned off due to calls by senior water users later than normal this year.
However, Ramsey commented that the San Juan River is “low” at 48 cubic feet per second (cfs) as of the day of the meeting and that the state drought stage for the area is stage two, which indicates severe drought.
As of 9 a.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 6, the San Juan River was flowing at 24.2 cfs at Pagosa Springs.
According to a PAWSD press release on the drought declaration, drought stage two is “an advance notice of severe drought conditions” and aims to reduce water usage by 20 to 30 percent.
Under stage two, outdoor irrigation is only allowed between 6 p.m. and 9 a.m. and only every other day, according to the press release. Additionally, irrigation is only allowed Monday through Friday and is not allowed on the weekends.
Ramsey commented that watering at night is a “good practice” in all cases since it helps conserve water and prevent losses to evaporation from watering during the day.
Properties with odd address numbers are allowed to water on odd-numbered calendar days, while properties with even addresses can water on even-numbered days.
Under drought stage two, gardens can only be hand watered using a hose or drip irrigation, the release states.
Restaurants are only allowed to serve water on request under stage two, the release states, and hotels are encouraged to only replace towels and bed linens for new guests or at the request of existing guests.
Additionally, for residential properties, drought stage two includes a doubling of tier rate fees for usage of water above 4,000 gallons per equivalent unit.
Ramsey noted during the meeting that PAWSD’s drought management plan requires a vote of the board to enter into drought stages above voluntary drought.
PAWSD board chairman Gene Tautges commented that the drought restrictions help protect “next year’s water” and are a proactive measure.
Ramsey commented that is a “good way to look at it.”
The board then discussed how water levels in the river are measured and how agricultural users withdrawing water from the river may impact or control PAWSD’s drought stages.
Ramsey stated that PAWSD staff had to place sandbags to maintain flow into the ditch that diverts water from the river to the San Juan Water Treatment Plant.
He added this is below where water from the Park Ditch reenters the river, which Ramsey stated is a major irrigation return, and is an indicator of how low water levels are.
However, he stated that the diversion that takes water from the river for the Snowball Water Treatment Plant, located further upstream, has not had similar issues with flow.
PAWSD board member Bill Hudson asked Ramsey to give him a reason why the district should not go into stage two drought.
Ramsey replied that the district should go into drought stage two since this would follow the drought management plan, which he noted was approved in 2020 and written by a citizen committee.
“We’re following that plan,” he said.
Tautges commented that he believes that PAWSD is also thinking about next year’s water, in addition to this year’s.
He then asked for a motion to move into drought stage two, with PAWSD board member Glenn Walsh moving to enter stage two drought and Hudson seconding the motion.
Walsh commented that not putting the plan in place would be “really counterproductive.”
He commented that the board should potentially consider lowering the number of gallons customers can use during the winter before they pay additional water use fees compared to the summer, since customers are not using water for irrigation in the winter.
Tautges commented that this is a “good question” and something the board should potentially return to later this year.
Ramsey explained that the previous drought plan was based exclusively on water levels in PAWSD’s lake system and in the San Juan River.
He added that this plan would typically only allow the district to enter drought late in the year and ensured the district was always behind the drought conditions and that the new plan is more proactive.
Walsh added that the new plan provides early-season triggers based on when water is shut off at Fourmile and other factors.
Tautges commented that the district could potentially lower the drought stage if the area receives a substantial amount of rain, which Ramsey confirmed.
“A lot of work went into this,” Tautges said. “It’s a much better drought management plan than the one I remember working with … and I see no reason not to follow all the good work that went into it.”
The board then unanimously voted to enter drought stage two.
josh@pagosasun.com
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