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<br />RIO GRANDE BASIN <br /> Sep - 08 <br /> <br />Basinwide Conditions Assessment <br /> The SWSI value for the month was 0.0 . Flow at the <br />RIO GRANDE BASIN SWSI HISTORY <br />gauging station Rio Grande near Del Norte average d 594 cfs <br />4 <br />(75% of normal). The Conejos River near Mogote had a mean <br />flow of 264 cfs (130% of normal). Streamflow in the upper <br />3 <br />Rio Grande basin was generally below average during August <br />2 <br />with the exception of the central Sangre de Cristo Mountain <br />DRY INDEX VALUE WET <br />creeks and the Alamosa River and La Jara Creek drainages, <br />1 <br />which were about normal. The Conejos River was above <br />average due only to storage releases from Platoro Reservoir <br />0 <br />for irrigation demand . Most of the other streams in the upper <br />Rio Grande basin have not rec eived enough rainfall to alter the <br />-1 <br />trend of below average conditions. Storage in Platoro, Rio <br />-2 <br />Grande, and Santa Maria reservoirs totaled 97 % of normal <br />as of the end of August . <br />-3 <br /> <br /> <br />-4 <br />Administrative/Management Concerns <br />Jan-99 Jan-00 Jan-01 Jan-02 Jan-03 Jan-04 Jan-05 Jan-06 Jan-07 Jan-08 <br />MONTH / YEAR <br /> The decline of streamflow brought reduc tion of the <br />curtailment on both the Rio Grande and Conejos systems. That <br />is, less water was routed directly through to the stateline for <br />RIO GRANDE NR. DEL NORTE, FLOW BY WATER YEAR <br />Compact delivery obligations. <br /> <br />1,200,000 <br />Public Use Impacts <br /> Although the runoff season was better than normal, <br />1,000,000 <br />many irrigators felt the pinch of dry conditions and ditches going <br />CUMULATIVE FLOW, Acre-Feet <br />out of priority. Reservoir releases, if available, and well <br />800,000 <br />pumping helped meet the heavy demand for irrigation supplies <br />during August. As September approaches, this demand eases <br />600,000 <br />as farmers prepare for h arvest. Commodity prices seem to be <br />good at this time. <br />400,000 <br /> <br />200,000 <br />0 <br />Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb March April May June July Aug Sept <br />WET (1987) DRY (2002) AVG 2008 <br />REPRESENTATIVE RESERVOIRS <br />30,000 <br />25,000 <br />Usable Storage, acre-feet <br />20,000 <br />15,000 <br />10,000 <br />5,000 <br />0 <br />Rio Grande Platoro Santa Maria <br />Avg. 8/31 Contents 8/31/08 Contents <br />5 <br />