Yesterday, Pagosa Area Water and Sanitation District (PAWSD) announced that Fourmile Creek went into administration call on April 27, 2026.
PAWSD holds water rights on Fourmile Creek, and that diversion supplies most of the water for the Hatcher Treatment Plant and for the Pagosa Lakes area. But the PAWSD rights are “junior” to senior rights held by agricultural users along Fourmile Creek, and during the spring — typically around June 15 — PAWSD is required by the water commissioner from the State Engineers Office, to stop diverting water from Fourmile Creek.
The District will no longer be allowed to divert water from Fourmile Creek into Hatcher or Stevens Reservoirs, and all lake levels will begin to drop. At the same time, water demand increases in the summer primarily due to outdoor watering. Once the lakes stop filling in the spring, the water must last through the whole summer, which isn’t possible during drought conditions.
To conserve water in Lake Hatcher, water is pumped 7 miles and 700 vertical feet, from a pumping station along the San Juan River south of downtown Pagosa Springs, to the ‘San Juan’ Water Treatment Plant near Lake Forest. Pumping water uphill is more costly than letting gravity do the work, so PAWSD water rates are increased to cover the additional cost.
Due to the date of the call on Fourmile Creek, the District will remain in the Drought Stage 1 watering schedule. Stage 1 limits irrigation between the hours of 6:00pm and 9:00am and a tier rate multiplier will be applied to flows above 5,000 gallons of water per billing cycle for residential users.
The Snow Water Equivalency (SWE) in the San Juan Mountains was at 1.6 inches over the weekend; the median SWE on this day is 29.6 inches.
The District greatly appreciates everyone’s continued diligence in conserving water. If you have any questions regarding the current Drought Management Plan, it can be found on the website at https://www.pawsd.org/water-service/water-conservation/
The following graphic was created by students from the school district, to graphically illustrate our current water situation. Click the image for a larger view.
