WSP01548

• File Number: 8220.106
• Description: Animas-La Plata
• State: CO
• Basin: San Juan/Dolores
• Water Division: 7
• Date: 7/1/1987
• Author: EPI
• Title: An Analysis of the Animas-La Plata Project - Durango-Colorado - July 1987
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Report/Study

I
~ i

Consequently, average annual precipitation ranges from about
9 inches at lower elevations in the southernmost part of the
project area to about 18 inches at higher elevations in the
northern part. The least precipitation usually occurs in
June and the greatest from July through October. Average May
through September precipitation ranges from about 4.1 inches
in the La Plata area of New Mexico to 7.6 at Hesperus,
Colorado.

The project is to supply 47,600 acre-feet of water for
non-Indian municipal and industrial users and 32,500
acre-feet for the Indians. Water users would be responsible
for the conveyance, treatment, and distribution of their
respective water supplies. Project documents give no
indication of what these costs will be.

According to the Definite Plan Report:

The amount of water available for project use is the
portion of the preproject flows of the Animas and La
Plata Rivers at the Durango Pumping Plant and Southern
ute Diversion Dam, respectively, in excess of the
amount required to satisfy water rights senior to
project rights or to maintain selected minimum river
flows. During the 49-year period 1929 through 1977, the
average annual preproject flows of the Animas and La
Plata Rivers at the indicated locations were 542,300
acre-feet and 26,400 acre-feet, respectively, and
non-project water for rights senior to the project
rights or to satisfy selected bypass requirements
average 78,600 acre-feet and 7,200 acre-feet,
respectively. The supply available for project use,
therefore, is 463,700 acre-feet from the Animas River
and 19,200 acre-feet from the La Plata River, or a
total of 482,900 acre-feet annually.

The Animas River will have its average annual flow depleted
by 131,200 acre-feet at the state line and up to 161,400
acre-feet at the confluence of the San Juan. The La Plata
river will be depleted by 12,400 acre-feet.

The M&I water supplies are committed to meetinq projected
needs of the project area until approximately 2010 in New
Mexico and 2020 in Colorado. Some of this supply would be
used when available, the remainder would be used as the need
developed. (It is possible that these time periods could
slide ten years qiven the delay in project construction.
The absence of new information, given the Phase I - Phase II
approach for the project, makes this speculative.)

81,100 acre-feet of water from the project have been
requested for municipal and industrial use. The state
of Colorado portion would be 41,700 alf and New Mexico

~

~.

s

~
~

~
~
~
,.

~

.;
~I
~
~
~
~

~

16