Click the link to read the article on The Durango Herald website (Jessica Bowman). Here’s an excerpt:
February 2, 2026
Vallecito Dam is due for some serious upkeep…But aging materials and erosion have caused significant damage to the dam’s emergency support structures, and a major repair project is coming down the pipeline sometime in the next several years.
“We’ve got this issue and we know it’s here. It hasn’t been clandestine; we’ve told people about it forever,” said Ken Beck, superintendent of the Pine River Irrigation District. “But it’s a nail-biter for a superintendent and dam tender.”
PRID operates, maintains and manages Vallecito Dam and Reservoir, which holds and delivers supplemental irrigation water to 65,000 acres of land downstream – the lifeblood for ranchers and farmers who hold water rights with the district…The repair project – about which little has been decided beyond the fact that it must happen – will be a massive undertaking. Beck estimated it could take roughly two to four years to complete once ground is broken, likely changing some of the regular operations of the reservoir. There is the potential that irrigators, ranchers and farmers who rely on consistent water deliveries would feel some impact – but Beck said how much and if at all is dependent on a variety of factors, like the weather and the time of year when the construction is done…The project is also important from the standpoint of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe, which is entitled to one-sixth of the reservoir’s total storage capacity. That water is used primarily for tribal agriculture and water management…
The primary issue is the dam’s upper spillway, a critical safety structure designed to release water during extreme runoff or flood events. Vallecito’s upper spillway includes three radial gates and a concrete chute that carries water to be released downstream safely without damaging the dam itself. Any damage to that infrastructure is a critical issue, and can compromise the dam’s ability to manage high water and protect downstream communities…In 2017, PRID conducted a dye test to assess the spillway’s integrity, Beck said. Dye placed upstream later appeared in areas downstream where it should not have surfaced if the structure were intact, confirming that water was migrating beneath the concrete spillway.
That process – known as “piping” – can carry sediment out from under the structure and weaken its foundation. After the dye test, the Bureau of Reclamation launched a series of investigations that revealed large underground voids – some as large as 4 by 10 feet – beneath portions of the spillway. Beck said it was determined the upper spillway is unsafe to use except in dire emergencies, because uncontrolled flows could accelerate erosion and threaten the dam’s integrity.
