# San Juan River Flows Information - Navajo Dam



## sjnovak3 (Jun 17, 2004)

Hi all-
This is my annual update on Navajo Dam ops and San Juan River flows. I started getting a lot of calls recently, which reminded me that I had not posted an update this year. 

Obviously the San Juans (and most of the west) are in the worst year of recent drought. As such, you can expect really bare bones flows this year. There isn't much carryover storage in Navajo from last year, so the minimums will probably be released to meet ESA targets. 

The next couple of weeks you'll see the "peak" (if you can even call it that) from the Animas, probably somewhere in the neighborhood of 1500 cfs, and then the river will recede, and releases from the dam will make an attempt to maintain a 500 cfs average from Farmington to Lake Powell for the rest of summer. Since it's an average over that long stretch of river, you can expect the boating reach to dip below 500 at times. People often ask what's the minimum we will let it get, and there is no real answer there. The boating stretch is 4 days downstream of the dam, so if something happens in-between the dam and there, all I can do is play catchup. In a better year I'd let more water our to be flexible, but the drought demands tight operations.

If you're concerned or what to know what the flows will be for your trip, you can call/text or email me, anytime, weekends and whatever, and I will tell you what I know at the time. My email is [email protected] and my cell phone is 970-691-0467. Good luck this year and let's hope we get a massive monsoon season.

Susan
*---
Susan Novak Behery, P.E.*
Hydraulic Engineer
Reclamation
Western Colorado Area Office
Durango, CO
[email protected]
970-385-6560

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


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## Riverwild (Jun 19, 2015)

You rock Susan! Thanks for always supplying us with great info!


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## okieboater (Oct 19, 2004)

Thank you Susan, we appreciate you keeping us up to date !!


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## TJP (Nov 20, 2020)

Very kind of you to make your knowledge so accessible, much appreciated!


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## Droboat (May 12, 2008)

Is averaging a crime?





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Endangered Species Act (ESA) | Animal Legal & Historical Center







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*Brief Summary of the Endangered Species Act (ESA)
Cynthia Hodges, J.D., LL.M., M.A. (2010)*








The Endangered Species Act (“ESA”) is a federal law that was enacted in 1973 to protect endangered and threatened species from becoming extinct (dying out). A species or subspecies is endangered if it is “in danger of extinction through out all or a significant portion of its range.” A threatened species is one that is likely to become endangered within the foreseeable future. Three different departments of the federal government administer ESA: the Department of Interior (endangered animals generally), the Department of Commerce (marine mammals), and the Department of Agriculture (plants).

ESA facilitates species recovery in several ways. It makes it illegal to import, export, take, possess, sell, or transport any endangered or threatened species. In addition, ESA provides that land necessary for the survival of the species should be designated as critical habitat. This includes land that is presently occupied by the listed species and land that is important for its continued and future existence. The prohibition against “taking” a listed species includes destruction of critical habitat.

ESA contains a number of exceptions. For example, a species may be exempted by the Endangered Species Committee (“God Squad”) or not covered if it is an experimental population (members of an endangered or threatened species that are released outside of the species’ current range to further conservation purposes). Other exceptions include incidental take by federal actions, national security issues, hardship cases, possession of a preexisting historical item, and certain actions by Alaskan Natives.

Provisions of the ESA are enforced through citizen suits, as well as through civil and criminal penalties. A criminal violation may result in imprisonment and a fine of up to $50,000. A civil violation of a major provision may result in a $25,000 fine (knowing violation) or a $12,000 fine. A violation of a minor provision, permit, or regulation may incur a $500 fine. Fish, wildlife and plants illegally taken, possessed, sold, or purchased may be confiscated (the most usual outcome). If there is a criminal conviction, then equipment and vehicles that were used to violate the ESA may also be confiscated.

With certain exceptions, the ESA protects endangered and threatened species from extinction by prohibiting the importing, exporting, taking, possessing, selling, and transporting of such species. It also prohibits the destruction of their critical habitat. ESA provisions are enforced through the use of citizen suits, imprisonment, fines, and forfeiture.


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## Bill Bones (Nov 26, 2020)

Droboat said:


> Is averaging a crime?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


umm wut


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## MHowell (Mar 12, 2021)

Hi Susan, Can you provide an update of projected flows for this spring?

Thanks in advance


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