Pine River Irrigation District

Update from Superintendent-David Hofmann

Releases from Vallecito Reservoir have been increasing since October 20th as an extremely large storm passed through. As of today (Oct 26th), Vallecito is over 90% full, and the inflows are above 1,500 cubic feet per second (cfs).

As of October 26th, releases are at 1,500 cfs and will continue to increase as there is another storm on the horizon. The releases will remain high for the foreseeable future to stabilize the capacity of the reservoir and safety of the system. Good weather for the next few days will allow catchup and stabilization. Releases could go as high a 2,000 cfs but will remain below the safe channel capacity of 2,500 cfs set by the Army Corp of Engineers. Flows in the Town of Ignacio will be higher than the release value due to low elevation flows in creeks and tributaries to the Pine River.

Some of you may recall in the spring of 2015 when the releases from Vallecito peaked at 3,000 cfs. The current projected releases are significantly below those levels. Springtime flushes on the river have also been near 2,000 cfs in the recent years, and many of you have experienced those flows firsthand. Please use the link below to check for yourself the data available on the Colorado Division of Water Resources website.

Link --- Stations

Vallecito Reservoir and Navajo Reservoir fulfilled an important part of their mission by providing critical flood control and absorbing a significant amount of precipitation from the recent storm. Although some areas of the Four Corners experienced severe flooding, these dams helped reduce the impact of the deluge and provided valuable protection for downstream communities. Their performance reflects the Bureau of Reclamation’s outstanding design, construction, and maintenance of these systems over more than 80 years.

All parties involved will continue to diligently monitor the situation up and down the Pine River and future storm systems.

Thanks to our partners including but not limited to:

Bureau of Reclamation, Barr Engineering, La Plata County Emergency Management, Southern Ute Indian Tribe and several of its entities such as Water Resources, Fairgrounds staff and Emergency Management, Upper Pine Fire District, Colorado Division of Water Resources, Pine River Canal and Robert Morrison Ditches, National Weather Service out of Grand Junction – and many more