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Celebrate! We Are Water

Celebrate the 75th anniversary of the National Science Foundation and the We Are Water traveling exhibit from the University of Colorado at the Powerhouse in Durango. Join us on Saturday, May 10, between 10 AM and 3 PM. The We Are Water project engages communities across the desert southwestern United States. Learn about our regional water at this family-friendly event.

Save the Date! “Threats to our Water” Premieres May 20

Save the date for the premiere of “Threats to our Water” on Tuesday evening, May 20. The location for the film viewing and networking is the Pagosa Lodge. Details will be announced here and in the Pagosa SUN.

“Threats to our Water” is the third film in the SJWCD series – “This Is Your Watershed: Upper San Juan River.” The first two videos premiered in 2024 to significant local acclaim and community support. Both “The Value of Snow” and “The Waterways that Connect Us” can be viewed on the SJWCD website’s homepage.

In 2024, San Juan Water Conservancy District received funding from Colorado Water Conservation Board, through Southwest Basin Roundtable, to produce three short videos. The purpose of the videos was to educate the general public about our watershed and the video series was titled “This Is Your Watershed: Upper San Juan River.” Professional film-maker, Christi Bode of Moxiecran Media, produced all three films. Christi is currently writing, interviewing, and filming for the third film, “Threats to our Water.”

At the November 2024 premiere of SJWCD’s first two films, the following water groups demonstrated their support of SJWCD and shared their knowledge of all water uses in our upper San Juan River basin.

– Five Rivers Trout Unlimited

– Pagosa Weather

 – San Juan Headwaters Forest Health Partnership

 – San Juan Water Enhancement Partnership

 – Creation Care

 – Town of Pagosa Springs, Pagosa Gateway and Yamaguchi Park

 – Mountain Studies Institute

 – Friends of the Upper San Juan River and Pagosa Paddle

 – Colorado Division of Water

 – Colorado State University Extension and Natural Resources

 – Community Development Corporation

– Water Information Program

SJWCD works to protect San Juan River health and all local water uses – agricultural, environmental, recreational, industrial, and municipal. More information can be found at www.sjwcd.org.

SJWCD Opposes Sale of Running Iron Ranch

November 9, 2024

Statement of the San Juan Water Conservancy District regarding purchase offer for future reservoir site

The San Juan Water Conservancy District will not pursue a recent purchase offer from a private developer for the Running Iron Ranch. The SJWCD board made that decision by a unanimous vote at a special meeting held November 7, 2024.

The offer received by SJWCD does not commit to a future reservoir at the Running Iron Ranch as Pagosa Area Water & Sanitation District board members publicly stated the offer would.

SJWCD cannot sell reservoir project water rights it holds. The SJWCD board has a fiduciary duty to maintain ownership of the project water rights and manage them for the benefit of the public.

SJWCD was asked to sign a nondisclosure agreement. SJWCD is a water conservancy district subject to Colorado open records laws. SJWCD will manage its records in accordance with applicable law.

A statement made by SJWCD on November 1, 2024, explaining why SJWCD opposes sale of the Running Iron Ranch as a policy matter is posted on the SJWCD website at sjwcd.org.

November 1, 2024 

Statement of the San Juan Water Conservancy District opposing Pagosa Area Water & Sanitation District sale of future reservoir site

The San Juan Water Conservancy District opposes the Pagosa Area Water & Sanitation District’s sale of public property held as a future reservoir site in a private deal to a land developer. SJWCD will work to halt sale plans based on short-sighted and narrow views of current PAWSD board members.

PAWSD board members refuse to share details of its plan with SJWCD, co-owner of the reservoir site, despite a specific request that they do so and a contractual duty to consult SJWCD.

SJWCD calls upon PAWSD to work cooperatively with SJWCD and the public to secure our water future. SJWCD also calls upon the public to demand from PAWSD an open and informed discussion of water needs and conditions that affect our future water supply.

It is simply wrong for PAWSD to sell public land vital to water storage without making every effort to retain the property as it agreed to do.

Public Property for a Future Reservoir

The Pagosa Area Water & Sanitation District (PAWSD) and San Juan Water Conservancy District (SJWCD) co-own property known as the Running Iron Ranch. The Ranch was purchased as the site for a future reservoir with funds provided by the State of Colorado – a grant to SJWCD and loan to PAWSD.

In 2015, PAWSD, SJWCD, and the State entered into an agreement to restructure the PAWSD loan and provide a substantial reduction in interest owed to the State. That agreement sets out a timeline designed to keep the Ranch in public hands while the lengthy process of planning, permitting, and building a reservoir can proceed. The first part of the timeline is a 20-year planning period. PAWSD agreed to “make every effort to retain the Running Iron Ranch” during the planning period (2015-2035).

SJWCD Opposes PAWSD’s Action to Sell Running Iron Ranch

In recent weeks, PAWSD’s board voted to sell the Ranch. SJWCD opposes the sale as a policy matter. SJWCD does not believe PAWSD’s action to sell the Ranch is based on sound water planning or economic analysis. 2

Selling the Ranch deprives County residents and property owners of the best available site for a future reservoir. The sale plan abandons land now in public hands and dedicated to use for water storage and public purposes consistent with a reservoir.

PAWSD has not engaged with SJWCD to discuss these concerns. Instead, PAWSD voted on October 24, 2024, to sue the SJWCD as a tactic to complete a sale over SJWCD’s objection.

PAWSD’s Rush to Litigation is a Bad Use of Limited Public Funds

Public/ratepayer funds should not be spent litigating when cooperative efforts could answer the questions that divide PAWSD and SJWCD. The Districts’ funds would be better spent on professional services assisting the SJWCD, PAWDS, and the community plan for long-term water needs, evaluate drought risks, and assess the feasibility and requirements for building a reservoir at the Running Iron Ranch.

In 2008, PAWSD issued a Source Water Protection Plan identifying drought as a risk to PAWSD’s water supply. That Plan, available on PAWSD’s website, called for ongoing public education on water conservation and planning for future storage. PAWSD’s current board members are walking away from planning for water storage.

SJWCD applauds residents, businesses, and PAWSD for taking steps to conserve water. Conservation efforts will not, however, put water in the San Juan River during hotter drier years. In Spring 2024, snowpack above Navajo Reservoir peaked at roughly 105% of the 30-year average. The April – July runoff, however, was only 70% of average. Our water needs include faucets and more – the health of the river and access for recreation, a key to our local economy.

SJWCD believes planning decisions are best made in open and transparent processes informed by current water conditions and a forward-looking perspective.

SJWCD Invites the Public to Support Cooperative Efforts

SJWCD is ready to work with PAWSD and other community stakeholders in a cooperative planning effort. SJWCD has been moving over the past year to build public awareness of our watersheds and environmental conditions affecting them, introduce community members to the Running Iron Ranch, and engage professional services for reservoir planning. SJWCD foresees public uses of the Ranch beyond water storage.

SJWCD has included PAWSD in many of its public outreach efforts, and SJWCD designated board members to provide a clear channel of communication to PAWSD’s board. In contrast, PAWSD board members have taken it upon themselves to negotiate sale terms without involving SJWCD in any of those discussions.

SJWCD encourages the public to reach out to board members of both SJWCD and PAWSD about the potential sale of public property identified years ago as the best available site for future water storage.

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