By Sally High
San Juan Water Conservancy District The 2025 state of the 1922 Colorado River Compact will be explained in a public presentation by the Southwestern Water Conservation District and WrightWater Engineers on March 25. An analysis of “Risk to the Upper San Juan River” will be examined.
The Pagosa Springs Center for the Arts (PSCA) at 2313 Eagle Drive is the location of the presentation, which will begin at 4pm.
Pete Foster of Wright Water Engineers will describe potential changes to the Upper San Juan River if a call on the Colorado River were to become necessary.
Simply put, a call on water means that, in a time of water shortage, a senior water right user downstream can demand that junior water right owners upstream relinquish their water. The water must be allowed to flow downstream for use by senior owners. The intent is that the senior users receive their legally allocated water. Water courts enforce a call. The Colorado River Compact legally defines the sharing of water among seven Upper and Lower Basin states.
The compact is now more than 100 years old. The territory of the southwestern United States has changed significantly in the past century. The compact has undergone intense negotiations in recent years with participation from the seven compact states, the nation of Mexico, and water-owning Native nations. The deadline for the announcement of new compact rules is 2026. “Risk to the Upper San Juan River” is specific to our watershed, part of an update to the 2019 Colorado River Risk Study.
The Southwestern Water Conservation District contracted Wright Water Engineers to analyze the 2019 data and to create a relevant public presentation.
Join water professionals and other interested citizens at the “Risk to the Upper San Juan River” presentation to learn about the possible effects of water shortages downstream from our Upper San Juan River watershed. The March 25 presentation is free and open to the public. Audience questions and discussion will follow. Networking will continue with a cash bar hosted by the PSCA.
The San Juan Water Conservancy District is one of six water conservancy districts within the boundaries of Southwestern Water Conservation District in southwest Colorado.
More information about current local water issues can be accessed at sjwcd.org.