Click the link to read the article on The Pagosa Springs Sun website (Dorothy Elder). Here’s an excerpt:
The San Juan Water Conservation District (SJWCD) Board of Directors began consideration of updates to its strategic plan at its Sept. 19 special meeting. The updates are being considered in light of the results from a recently commissioned study by Wilson Water Group(WWG)which forecasted the supply and demand of water through 2050 in the Upper San Juan River Basin…
The study, which calculated potential future municipal, agricultural and recreational water demand and shortages in ranges based on population and climate projections, suggested that a 1,600 acre-feet reservoir would be need- ed to meet low demand and a 10,000 acre-feet reservoir would be needed to meet mid-range demand. It concluded that no feasible reservoir could meet the highest demand calculated…
Board members suggested a deeper look into private property owners and existing or planned water wells; a deeper understanding of population projections and municipal water demand; more data on the agricultural demand analysis due to the limitations of the WWG study; and a cost-benefit analysis of a potential reservoir, factoring in recreational demands. They also made it a long-term goal to continually monitor water data emerging from other entities, especially given the limited economic resources available to the SJWCD to commission large data analyses.
