BOARD02469

• Board Meeting Date: 7/18/2005
• Description: CWCB Director's Report
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

Navajo Reservoir with many interested groups participating. Anyone interested in the
general operation of the reservoir is encouraged to attend. Please contact Pat Page in
Reclamation's Durango, Colorado Office at [phone] for information about these
meetings or the daily operation of Navajo Reservoir. To view minutes from the last
Navajo meeting, click on "Meeting Notes" at Reclamation's website.

USGS Update on Animas, La Plata, San Juan Rivers and Navajo Lake: The USGS
on June 16 noted that at the end of May, the Animas River raged at flood stage -
threatening some river side homes in Flora Vista and Farmington - due to a rapid snow
melt in Colorado's San Juan Mountains. Since then, water flows across the San Juan
Basin - including the San Juan and La Plata rivers - have dropped sharply,

Here are the latest numbers on the three rivers' flows, going downstream:

. The Animas River below Aztec flowed at 2,230 cubic-feet-per-second June 15,
down from a reading of 9,000 cfs the week of May 23. It had risen to 13 feet,
before falling to its current level of 9.5 feet. The Animas River through Cedar
Hill flowed at 2,420 cfs Wednesday, down from nearly 9,000 cfs three weeks ago.
Its depth also dropped from more than 10 feet to 6.85 feet. The Animas River
through Farmington flowed at 2,290 cfs Wednesday, down from its peak of nearly
10,000 cfs the week of May 23. During its flood stage the river had crested close
to 10 feet, overflowing portions of its banks. The river's depth has now retreated
to a little more than its most recent reading of six feet.

. The La Plata River through Farmington flowed at just 11 cfs Wednesday, down
from a reading of 400 cfs three weeks ago. Its depth fell from a reading of more
than seven feet to 4.6 feet.

. The San Juan River through Farmington flowed at 6,320 cfs Wednesday, down
from a reading of more than 14,000 cfs during the massive Colorado snow melt. It
had reached a height of more than 8 feet, before dropping to its current 5.15 feet.
The San Juan River through Shiprock flowed at 6,030 cfs Wednesday, down from
a reading of more than 13,000 cfs three weeks ago, according to the U.S.
Geological Survey. It had reached nearly 14.5 feet before falling to a still
formidable 11.3 feet. The San Juan River through the Four Corners flowed at
6,300 cfs Wednesday, down from a reading of more than 13,000 cfs the week of
May 23. Its depth has dropped from more than 6 feet to 4.1 feet.

. Navajo Lake, fed by the San Juan River, has significantly recovered since it hit a
40-year low of 5,096 feet in December 2004. Inflows into Navajo Lake peaked at
11,015; 10,909; 11055 and 10,630 cfs for four days beginning May 22.
Downstream releases from Navajo Dam during the same period were at a
maximum of 5,042 cfs. . The lake's elevation rose from 6,070 to 6,073 feet during
the same time period - within grasp of the lake's capacity of 6,085 feet. The
lake's storage capacity also rose from 1,490,970 acre feet to 1,522,333 acre feet.
Inflows into the lake however dropped to 4,811 cfs June 4. It marked the first time

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