Because of high carryover from 2023, recipients of water from McPhee Reservoir can expect their full allocations of water this year, despite rapidly disappearing snowpack.
The snow melted unseasonably fast this year. There is virtually no snow left above the reservoir, which means that the water in McPhee is all that the Dolores Water Conservancy District has to dispense for the season.
Last year saw above-average snowpack and a late spring, so farmers saw their full water allocation for the first time in years, but the growing season was delayed by several weeks.
“We hold as much water as we can, up to full in any given runoff year, and then make those allocations and water rights available to the users, and then, depending on how they use it, that's really what drives carryover.” said Ken Curtis, general manager of the DWCD.
Monsoon season, and annual weather pattern that typically brings late afternoon thunderstorms to the southwest United States should begin in late June or early July and last until fall. However, monsoons very rarely raise the level of McPhee Reservoir.
The Lower Dolores River is flowing about 333 cubic feet per second on Monday. The Dolores Water Conservancy District will likely not schedule any “flushing flows” for the summer. In total, the Lower Dolores will get between 30,000 and 32,000 acre-feet of water this year.
This will mean there will be little to no rafting below McPhee Reservoir in 2024.
