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Denny Lake in east Cortez impacted by drought

Denny Lake, east of Cortez, is feeling the impacts of the drought.
Water shortage limits lake water supply

The city of Cortez is alerting residents on the status of Denny Lake, which is a city-owned facility on the east side of Cortez just south of U.S. Highway 160.

In a typical year, the City of Cortez sends additional irrigated water from the Conquistador Golf Course to Denny Lake.

Because of the severe drought conditions, Montezuma Valley Irrigation Co. limited the City’s water allocation this year to 50%, which has a significant impact on how much irrigated water that could be sent down to Denny Lake, according to a July 23 city of Cortez news release.

The city reached out to the Bureau of Reclamation earlier in the year about receiving some of their water shares for Denny Lake, but the water shortages did not make it possible.

As a result of the drought, the Denny Lake water level will be flat or decrease in the coming weeks, depending on rainfall, city officials said.

The city of Cortez will be unable to provide any additional water to Denny Lake, once the irrigated water is shut off.

“Denny Lake will have significant water loss in the weeks and months ahead, and we will keep the community posted of how much that may be when more information becomes available,” the news release states.

The city and other public agencies are looking into removing invasive species at the lake to lessen water losses.

For more information, please check the City website for updated postings or contact Parks and Recreation Director, Dean Palmquist, at (970) 564-4081.