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<br />RIO GRANDE BASIN <br /> <br />Basinwide Conditions Assessment <br />The SWSI value of +1.3 indicates that for December <br />the basin water supplies were slightly above. normal. The <br />Natural Resources Conservation Service reports that <br />January 1 snowpack is 115% of normal. Flow at the gaging <br />station Rio Grande near Del Norte was 191 cfs, (92% of <br />normal). The Conejos River near Mogote had a mean flow of <br />44 cfs (84% of normal). Storage in Platoro, Rio Grande, and <br />Santa Maria reservoirs totaled 66% of normal as of the end <br />of December. <br />A1amosa received 0.26 inches of precipitation durirw <br />December, including a very rare rainstorm on December 29 . <br />That storm dropped a blanket of snow on the San Juan <br />Mountains, but did not tum to snow in the Valley where <br />temperatures stayed above freezing. A1amosa's annual <br />precipitation of 6.03 inches during calendar year 2004 was 1.2 <br />inches below the annual average. Precipitation in other areas <br />of the basin was also poor. For example, precipitation near <br />Crestone was over four inches below normal. For the seventh <br />consecutive year, the average annual temperature. in the San <br />Luis Valley was above normal. <br /> <br />Outlook <br />2004 saw an unusually high runoff in May, . But, stream <br />flow levels dropped quickly during June and bottomed out in <br />August. Welcome rainfall in the mountains and the valleys <br />during September and October increased stream flow to near- <br />normal levels. Stream flow in the basin should be near average <br />for the next few months. <br />Enthusiasm about the great start to the 2005 snowpack <br />waned during late December when the basin wide content <br />dropped below average. But heavy snowfall in the mountains <br />during the last few days of December and early January <br />dramatically increased snowpack to over 150% of average. <br />The Natural Resources Conservation Service is <br />forecasting 2005 runoff levels to be 85 to 120 percent of normal <br />for key streams in the San Luis Valley, due in part to this recent <br />snowfall. <br /> <br />Administrative/Manaaement Concerns <br />The Rio Grande and its tributaries. generated about <br />516,000 acre-feet through the gage near Del Norte during <br />calendar year 2004. The long-term annual average is 655,000 <br />acre-feet. <br />The Conejos River and its tributaries also experienced <br />good runoff in May 2004. Indexed flow on the Conejos River <br />near Mogote totaled 197,000 in calendar year 2004, compared <br />to an annual average of 241 ,000 acre-feet. <br />Closed Basin Project delivery to the Rio Grande <br />totaled about 10,900 acre-feet in calendar year 2004. All <br />Project canal deliveries mat water quality standards. <br /> <br />Jan-05 <br /> <br />...~ <br /> <br />. <br /> <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />, <br />~ <br /> <br />w <br />~ <br />>. <br />1;) <br />c <br />~ <br />., <br /> <br />~ <br />c <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />'-"__.-..oo.-..o1.lDC1l:Jtn.03JinO$.-.aI <br />""""- <br /> <br />RIO GWa: IIR C8.J.CRI'E. AJ:JN BY Wo\TER 'l'EAA. <br /> <br />3>>.00> <br /> <br />1""11>> <br /> <br />):m11>> <br />~ <br />~B1,cm <br />~ <br />:510011>> <br />::l <br />" <br />::l <br />" "'11>> <br /> <br /> <br />o <br />Qt <br /> <br />"" <br /> <br />"" <br /> <br />..., <br /> <br />Feb <br /> <br />""'" <br /> <br />..... <br /> <br />-+-VlET(19B7) <br /> <br />-+-CRr'(2X1Z) -+-AVG <br /> <br />*2005 <br /> <br />FEF'f5ENTA1'J\.1;;~ <br /> <br />:15,000 <br /> <br />"'11>> <br /> <br />1,,00> <br />,; <br />a <br />. <br />Jl <br />~ 10,000 <br />;; <br />~ <br />::l <br /> <br /> <br />,"00 <br /> <br />o <br /> <br />... 03>de <br /> <br />-., <br /> <br />- <br /> <br />. k.g. 12131 0:rta1S <br /> <br />112t3W4Ccrten1s <br /> <br />5 <br />