Author: SanJuan Water

Yeh Engineering submitted a Preliminary Geotechnical and Geologic Hazards Report, a Feasibility Report, to San Juan Water Conservancy District in May 2025. The Final Report followed a period of engagement  and extensive clarifications with SJWCD board members.

SJWCD engaged Yeh Engineering (https://www.yeh-eng.com) to conduct a thorough assessment of the geotechnical services needed to construct a water storage reservoir at the Running Iron Ranch (RIR). The proposed water storage facility, currently called San Juan Headwaters Project (Project), is a potentially 11,000-acre foot off-channel reservoir. The Colorado Water Conservation Board, SJWCD, and Pagosa Area Water and Sanitation District own Running Iron Ranch.

San Juan Water Conservancy District (SJWCD) recognizes the need for reservoir planning, preliminary engineering, and funding for water storage at Running Iron Ranch. SJWCD will post updates here as reservoir planning advances.

SJWCD was created in 1987 in accordance with the Water Conservancy Act.  The District is located at the headwaters of the San Juan River and encompasses all of the town of Pagosa Springs and most of Archuleta County. The District has transitioned over the last fifty years to a tourism-based economy with many of our visitors enjoying river recreation including fishing, rafting, tubing, and San Juan Forest-oriented activities like hiking, mountain biking, camping, and snow sports.

The conservancy of Colorado’s water continues to be a consideration of the Colorado legislature (https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/sb24-038) in the present day. The need for water storage is defined in the Colorado Water Plan (https://www.sjwcd.org/colorado-water-plan), which drives the decision-making of the SJWCD Board of Directors.

The primary focus of the SJWCD during its 36 years of existence has been managing water rights ceded to the District at its formation and exploring water storage options for the Upper San Juan River Basin. Board Directors are judicially appointed and serve on a volunteer basis. SJWCD currently has no vacancies on its Board of Directors.

The Colorado Division of Water Resources (DWR) has announced new water measurement rules that take effect on June 1, 2025 for the San Juan and Dolores River Basins. The rules apply to irrigation and other diversions of water from surface and groundwater sources.

Colorado intends to measure and document all water used within its boundaries, so that its numbers stated in ongoing Colorado River Compact negotiations are valid. Since consumptive agricultural water use accounts for most of the water used in Colorado, water rights owners who irrigate are affected. Our local Water Commissioners are responsible for ensuring accurate measurement and record-keeping.

San Juan Water Conservancy District is in Division 7 and the Pagosa Division of Water  Resources office is at 46 Eaton Drive. Commissioners Craig Dollar, Becky Guilliams, and Rick Valdez staff the local office and work with Archuleta County water users.

The following statement was issued by Colorado Division of Water Resources on May 16, 2025.

“The Colorado Division of Water Resources announced that starting June 1, 2025, new rules governing the measurement of surface and groundwater diversions and storage will be in effect for Division 7. The division includes the San Juan and Dolores River Basins. The rules do not apply to water users who obtain their water directly from a municipal provider, rural water supplier, or a ditch company, as those entities are required to have measurement where they divert from the stream or ground.

For background, Colorado statutes include a requirement that owners of ditches and reservoirs install headgates where water is taken from the natural stream. These statutes also give the state and division engineer the authority to require owners and users of water rights to install measuring devices.

Accurate measurement of diversions is critical to protect Colorado’s entitlement to water, including under the Colorado River Compact, and to ensure that we are maximizing the beneficial use of the public’s water resource for consumptive and environmental purposes.

The statutes, however, do not include any specifics regarding what is considered an acceptable headgate or measuring device. Historically, it has been administered by the Division of Water Resources through issuing orders to owners for the installation of headgates or measuring devices.

The rules describe two types of measurement methods: measuring devices, which are physical devices (flumes, weirs, etc.) that are placed in a diversion for measurement, and alternative measurement methods, which are typically indirect methods of measuring flow rates without a physical device.

Time frames for installation of headgates and measuring devices vary from one to four years based on the diversion amount and location. Water users are encouraged to view the Rules to determine the applicable time frame. 

Water users unsure of their decreed water right or permitted well permit flow rates and volumes can use DWR’s online tools available at https://dwr.state.co.us/Tools to find this information. Anyone who has questions regarding how these rules apply to their diversion or how to install a measuring device on their system can contact the Water Commissioner in your Water District at https://dwr.colorado.gov/about-us/contact-us/division-7-durango-contacts or the Divison 7 office at 970-731-2931.”