From email from Reclamation (Susan Novak Behery)
High snowpack in the San Juan River Basin this year has led to an above-average inflow forecast into the reservoir. The latest most probable inflow forecast from the Colorado River Basin Forecast Center is for 150% of average inflows from snowmelt runoff.
While most of the releases will be made to recover reservoir storage, Reclamation is planning to conduct a channel maintenance release from Navajo Dam. The release will ramp up slowly, peaking at 5,000 cfs for at least 11 days before ramping back down. This operation is expected to begin the last week of May and last through the third week of June. The exact schedule dates are to be determined as they will be timed to coincide with the peak on the Animas River. A notice with the final start date will be sent out approximately one week prior to beginning this release. Please stay tuned for updates…
For more information, please see the following resources below:
Bureau of Reclamation:
- Susan Behery, Hydrologic Engineer, Reclamation Western Colorado Area Office: sbehery@usbr.gov or 970-385-6560
- Navajo Dam website: https://www.usbr.gov/uc/water/crsp/cs/nvd.html
- Navajo Dam Release Notices: https://www.usbr.gov/uc/wcao/water/rsvrs/notice/nav_rel.html
- Colorado River Basin Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/coloradoriverbasin
San Juan County, New Mexico, Office of Emergency Management:
- Website: https://www.sjcounty.net/government/emergency-management
- Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/oemsjc
San Juan County, Utah, Office of Emergency Management:
- Website: https://sanjuancounty.org/emergency-management
- San Juan County Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/SanJuanUtah/
Navajo Nation Department of Emergency Management:
- Website: https://ndem.navajo-nsn.gov/
- Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/nndem2020/
