Recent rainfall and a Nichols Dam upgrade has enabled Santa Fe to send about 1.25 million gallons of water per day into the Santa Fe River.
Some of the flow aims to support a living Santa Fe River and some to drain the Nichols Reservoir for the intake structure construction project.
River water is flowing because Nichols Dam has been taken out of service and water levels must be drawn down for the removal of the existing intake tower. The intake tower is the structure that funnels water to the treatment plant.
The water in Nichols Reservoir is typically treated at the Canyon Road Water Treatment Plant and delivered to consumers, while a portion may be bypassed to the Santa Fe River as part of the living river program.
September rainfall has made a significant impact on reservoir storage.
The McClure Reservoir is at 81 percent capacity with an inflow rate of approximately 12 million gallons per day.
As recently as Sept. 12, the McClure Reservoir was at approximately 30 percent of capacity with an inflow rate of less than 0.25 million gallons per day.
“The timing of recent rainfall and the infrastructure improvements at Nichols Reservoir has worked out very well for the objectives of the city's Santa Fe River Target Flow Program,” said Brian Drypolcher, River and Watershed Coordinator for the City of Santa Fe. “We're moving water down the river before plants go dormant for the winter. The flowing water looks great, sounds great and it comes at a time that's good for the ecosystems along the river.”