Click the link to read the article on The Durango Herald website (Christian Burney). Here’s an excerpt:
September 14, 2024
About 20 people attended the event. They heard the panelists discuss Florida and Animas river trends, how Southwest Colorado’s climate is changing over time and fast facts about where Durango’s water comes from. Pool said Durango’s water comes predominantly from the Florida River and is supplemented by the Animas River. The city uses about 1.5 billion gallons of water per year for all utility use types, he said…He said both the Florida and Animas rivers are trending downward in total water volume; in dry years, groundwater recedes, which affects the total amount of surface water available. But Durango’s water consumption has remained flat despite a growing population, he said.
“Per capita, water use is going down. Total water use is staying pretty flat, with some seasonal fluctuations due to irrigation,” [Marty Pool] said.
While the city uses all the water from the Florida River it has legal rights to every year, it’s not even approaching the maximum usage of water from the Animas River, he said…Durango is lucky in that not all communities have that many second or third water options, he said.
