Good news for all who enjoy fishing high water!  It is starting next Monday.  Right now the river is fishing well using San Juan worms, bunny leeches, egg patterns and bright colored larva.  In the afternoon, use mayflies and crystal flash emergers.

A few years ago I fished high water when they were lowering the release.  The water was at about 1200cfs.  That was one awesome fishing day.  One cast, one fish for two straight hours.  I will never forget that day.

 

 

 

The Bureau of Reclamation has scheduled this year’s maintenance release from Navajo Reservoir. Reclamation will begin to increase the release on Monday, June 3^rd, 2019 at 2:00 AM. The ramp-up to 5,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) will take between 5 and 7 days, as increases will be made based on river conditions and coordination with local agencies.  A notice will be sent out each day during ramp-up, but a preliminary schedule is shown below.  The release is scheduled to remain at 5,000 cfs for a minimum of 5 days.  An additional day or more of peak may be added if conditions allow.  If an additional day at 5,000 cfs is added, a notice will be sent out as soon as possible. The ramp-down will occur over 3 days, reaching 500 cfs where it will remain until further notice.

The shape and timing of the hydrograph have been coordinated with the San Juan River Basin Recovery Implementation Program to balance Recovery Program benefits with flood control and operational safety. During spring operations, releases from the Navajo Unit will be made in an attempt to remain at or below the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers safe channel capacity of 5,000 cfs between Navajo Reservoir and the confluence with the Animas River in Farmington, and 12,000 cfs downstream of Farmington.  The release may be changed or reduced if the precipitation forecast shows a risk of exceeding safe channel capacity in the San Juan River.

Areas in the immediate vicinity of the river channel may be unstable and dangerous. Please use extra caution near the river channel and protect or remove any valuable property in these areas.

Please stay tuned as a notice with an updated schedule will be sent out daily during the release. Notices will also be posted to our website.  If you have any questions, or would like further information, please contact the Western Colorado Area Office at 970-385-6500, or Susan Behery at 970-385-6560 or [email protected].

For Navajo Reservoir Operations and information, visit http://www.usbr.gov/uc/water/crsp/cs/nvd.html

Preliminary Daily Schedule (will be updated with each notice)

Date*	Day Of Week	End of Day Release (cfs)
6/3/2019	Mon	2000
6/4/2019	Tue	3400
6/5/2019	Wed	4200
6/6/2019	Thu	4600
6/7/2019	Fri	5000
6/8/2019	Sat	5000
6/9/2019	Sun	5000
6/10/2019	Mon	5000
6/11/2019	Tue	5000
6/12/2019	Wed	3800
6/13/2019	Thu	2600
6/14/2019	Fri	1600
6/15/2019	Sat	500

* assumes the minimum 5-day ramp-up and 5 days at peak

Preliminary Hourly Schedule for next 2 days (will be updated with each notice)

Date	Hour	Release Change (cfs)
6/3/2019	2:00 AM	400
	4:00 AM	600
	6:00 AM	800
	8:00 AM	1000
	10:00 AM	1200
	12:00 PM	1400
	2:00 PM	1600
	4:00 PM	1800
	6:00 PM	2000
6/4/2019	7:00 AM	2200
	9:00 AM	2400
	11:00 AM	2600
	1:00 PM	2850
	3:00 PM	3100
	5:00 PM	3400

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