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City receives drought update; staff emphasizes lake storage, spillway‑raise study and regional water coordination
Summary
City staff reported Farmington remains in a moderate drought stage per NOAA guidance, said Farmington Lake is near capacity and described an ongoing study into raising the spillway to increase storage; staff also summarized ditch rotation rules and discussed Lake Nighthorse and San Juan River conveyance limitations.
City staff provided an informational update on drought conditions, reservoir storage and water‑supply options, telling the council Farmington remains in a moderate drought stage but Farmington Lake remains near full capacity and that raising the spillway is the most immediate, cost‑effective measure to increase local storage.
Why it matters: The city provides water regionally and maintains a reservoir that underpins municipal supply; staff said increasing storage will reduce vulnerability to multi‑year droughts and regional supply disruptions.
Staff reported Farmington Lake was at approximately 98.4 percent capacity (as of the most recent reading cited), while basin precipitation was about 78.94 percent of the 30‑year average. Staff reminded the council of ditch‑rotation practices administered when the Cedar Hill gauge falls below a trigger (150 cubic feet per second); rotations require periodic pump shutdowns at the city’s turnout and follow a 3‑on/9‑off pumping cadence as dictated by irrigation turns and rotational agreements.
On storage, staff summarized a spillway‑raise study that shows even a limited raise (five feet) would materially increase City storage days at critical times and that a larger, generational dam raise (e.g., 25 feet) could provide substantially more resiliency. Staff said the 30 percent design and related study will be complete in early the following year; staff are pursuing Water Trust Board and other grant funding and expect awarding to align with the next grant cycle. The council discussed Lake Nighthorse and the San Juan River as supplemental sources; staff said Lake Nighthorse holds water that could be useful, but conveyance constraints and downstream diversions make on‑demand access inefficient without a dedicated pipeline or multimillion‑dollar conveyance improvements.
Councilors and staff discussed testing releases from Nighthorse and coordinating with the San Juan Water Commission; staff said prior tests showed lessons but were conducted when the river was not dry, and the commission is the proper forum for coordinated releases. Staff encouraged continued outreach to state and federal partners for funding and emphasized that Farmington’s reservoir strategy is regional in scope because the city supplies water outside city limits.
Less critical/contextual note: Staff said a staged approach—shorter spillway raise first, followed by a long‑term campaign for a larger raise—was likely the most practical path to materially increasing storage within available funding channels.
