Storms, Snowmelt Mean Santa Fe River Will Flow

The Santa Fe River will begin flowing today as the city releases water from Nichols Reservoir in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.

Increased inflow into Nichols and McClure reservoirs from snowmelt this week and rain from storms the last two days prompted the city to release the water two days earlier than planned, according to Alan Hook, water resources analyst for the Sangre de Cristo Water Division.

The water release will continue for at least two weeks, with a total of 35 million gallons running down the river, Hook said.

Five million gallons will be released today and another 5 million Sunday, creating a flow of about 8 cubic feet per second in the upper portions of the river.

The release will be reduced to about a flow of 3 to 4 cfs through Wednesday and then drop to around 2 cfs until June 1, Hook said. The water division staff then will review snowmelt inflow to the reservoirs and weather conditions to see if the releases should continue, he said.

The city is looking at holding a trout fishing event next weekend and will ask the state Department of Game and Fish to stock the river for it if there is enough water to support the fish. Rachel Friedman, the city’s river coordinator, said the trout need about a 2-cfs flow to survive. The river loses about half a cubic foot per second to seepage and evaporation for each mile it flows.

Dave Groenfeldt, executive director of the Santa Fe Watershed Association, said he hopes the release will be enough to send water past Alto Park next Saturday for the annual River Festival. The city, the Santa Fe River Commission and the watershed association are sponsoring the event, which includes a river cleanup from 9 to 11 a.m. followed by a picnic and live music.

Hook said the peak of the runoff from this winter’s healthy mountain snowpack has yet to happen. When it does as temperatures rise, the flow into the city’s two reservoirs can occur rapidly, and the city keeps empty storage capacity in the reservoirs to prevent flooding.

"We want to be able to keep the reservoirs at about 95 percent storage capacity," Hook said. "That way, if inflow increases in a short period, we’ll have flexibility with managing the reservoirs."

The reservoirs were at 80 percent capacity Friday.

Hook said last year’s reservoir levels were helped by rains in the spring and early summer plus heavy monsoon rains the prior fall, allowing the city to release water continuously from March 15 to June 10.

The snowpack this year is good, and temperatures have stayed cold enough to keep the snow in place and slow the runoff.

Contact Staci Matlock at 470-9843 or smatlock@sfnewmexican.com.

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