Do you ever think about where your water comes from whenever you turn on a faucet? How far does the water coming out of your faucet have to travel before it reaches you? Wright’s Mesa has been fortunate in that it is located at the headwaters with no other community before it, and all of its water supply comes directly from the San Juan Mountains located just 20 miles south of Norwood. So, how did Norwood get its water, why might Norwood’s water supply be in jeopardy, and what can you do to make sure there is plenty of water to go around? Read on!
History Of Water On Wright’s Mesa
The Gurley Ditch and Reservoir
Water uses in the Norwood area have developed primarily around the production of livestock as well as crops that can be successfully grown at high elevation during the short growing season. The first company in the Norwood area organized for the purpose of water development was the Naturita Canal and Reservoir Company, formed in 1884. The company filed for water from the West Beaver Creek and Little Beaver Creek, which later built its first water storage facility, named Company Reservoir No. 1 in 1889.
Later, the Shenandoah Irrigation and Land Company formed and took over the Naturita Canal and Reservoir Company. Charles Gurley, one of the Naturita Canal and Reservoir Company’s founders, moved to the area from Denver and served on the board of the new company. The name of the Shenandoah Irrigation and Land Company was later changed to the Naturita Ditch Company, which planned to expand irrigated acreage through the development of several canals.
After financial hardships, The Naturita Canal and Reservoir Company liquidated and the Empire Irrigation and Land Company formed in its place in 1908 and operated the water system until 1911. A short few years later, a new company, the San Miguel Irrigation and Land Company was formed, but due to turmoil of shareholder proceedings in 1913, a settlement among shareholders and water users resulted in the formation of the Farmers Water Development Company which to this day, operates the Gurley water system on Wright’s Mesa.
The Gurley system, which includes the Gurley Ditch and Reservoir, diverts water from Beaver Creek through the Gurley Ditch, and irrigates approximately 20,000 acres. Water is carried through the ditch, to Gurley Reservoir with an intake of up to 600 cubic feet per second (cfs), while the capacity of the reservoir outlet is just 200 cfs. Gurley Reservoir holds 9,000 acre-feet of water, which is delivered from the reservoir to users through a series of canals. The Gurley Reservoir dam as we know it today was built in 1961 and is currently undergoing maintenance and repairs to prevent leakage.
The Gurley Ditch and Reservoir system does have its limitations however. In years with ample snowfall, farmers must dump excess water down Gurley Canyon during spring runoff because the reservoir’s intake capacity is far greater than the amount it can release. If the reservoir fills, up to 400 cfs of excess water is bypassed down the canyon at the reservoir intake. Water is typically delivered each year between mid-April and the beginning of May, through the first of October.
The Town of Norwood
The Town of Norwood’s water history is a little less clear, and the water system, currently owned and operated by the Norwood Water Commission, has gone through several stages of development using different sources of water. Records intricate Norwood’s first water system utilized an old earthen dam and reservoir known as Old City Reservoir, which was located about two miles directly south of Norwood. Water was delivered to the Old City Reservoir via the Cone Ditch and a pipeline that ran directly to town from the reservoir, serving only the Town of Norwood.
In 1930 the Gurley Ditch, just below Gurley Canyon, was developed as a source of water and a diversion structure was constructed along with a steel line which extended approximately three miles to a site about two miles south of the Old City Reservoir where a 200,000 gallon steel tank was later constructed. Other structures were later built to increase water supply, including spring development, an infiltration gallery and a well.
In 1997 the water supply facilities currently in use were constructed under a joint agreement between the Town of Norwood and the San Miguel Water Conservancy District. The Norwood Water Commission currently serves an area defined by Beaver Creek on the east side of Wright’s Mesa, Oak Hill on the south, Naturita Creek on the south and west and the San Miguel River on the north and east side of the mesa.
The Norwood Water Commission diverts its water supply at its treatment plant, or stores it in either one of two reservoirs, Reservoir 1 and Reservoir 2. One reservoir is used for fire protection and the other stores 200,000 of treated water. Three steel tanks are used to store treated water for delivery through the municipal and rural pipeline systems.
A Serious Water Situation
The Norwood Water Commission derives most of its water supply from the Farmers Water Development Company system (Gurley Ditch and Reservoir). Norwood currently holds 119 shares of water in the system via 85 miles of water lines, which provide the Town of Norwood with 286 feet of water during average years and 119 acre feet of water during dry years. To increase water supply and provide for future growth, the Town filed an application for a direct diversion right of 5 cfs from the San Miguel River in 1994.
Unfortunately, the summer monsoons, which typically bring ample rainfall to Wright’s Mesa from mid-summer through fall, have not produced much needed precipitation over the past few years, leaving Norwood’s water supply in jeopardy. During dry years, the Commission needs an additional supply of up to 28 acre feet of water to meet the demands of the present population. And with the projected population of nearly 5,000 people by 2050, an additional 430 acre feet of water may be needed for a total of approximately 650 acre feet of water. This projected population increase combined with the ongoing drought Wright’s Mesa is facing means that Norwood may be forced to derive its water supply entirely from the San Miguel River in the future.
As the ongoing exceptional drought continues, future is also looking grim for the farmers and ranchers of Wright’s Mesa who are dependent on snowpack and rainfall each year. The Gurley system is meant to run from mid-April/beginning of May till October, however, in the recent year’s drought, the system has only been able to run through the end of June, leaving farmers and ranchers high and dry during the hottest summer months. Ranchers have been forced to sell off large amounts of cattle because they do not have enough water for them and hay has become too expensive due to the limited supply from the shortened growing season. Those who have rights to graze on national forest land send their livestock to the high country during the summer months, however may be forced to sell if they cannot grow or purchase enough hay to get their livestock through the winter months.
Ways You Can Conserve Water
There are several ways to conserve water in and around your home, simply by altering your daily habits and routines. When it comes to watering outside, there is a huge opportunity to save water (and money) since watering outside can account for anywhere between 50 to 80 percent of a home’s total water use.
Personal Hygiene
- Turn off the water while brushing your teeth and while shaving. If you only turn on the water when you need to rinse, you can save up to 10 gallons each day.
- Install water-saving, low flow showerheads and take shorter showers. A standard showerhead uses approximately 2.5 gallons per minute, so a shorter shower can add up in savings. Even better, turn the water off while washing your hair and body, you could save upwards of 150 gallons each month.
- When taking a bath, start filling the tub with the drain already plugged instead of waiting first for the water to warm up. Adjust the temperature as the tub begins to fill. An average bath uses 70 gallons when filled to the brim.
- Capture the water while waiting for hot water to come down the pipes when showering or bathing, then use this water for indoor plants or your garden.
Cleaning
- Run only full loads in the washing machine and dishwasher. Install a water-efficient washer to save up to 16 gallons per load.
- Replace older appliances with new, water-efficient models. Energy-efficient dishwashers can save 3-8 gallons per load. Check with your local water supplier to see if any rebates are available.
- If you wash dishes by hand, don’t let the water run continuously for rinsing. Use a sprayer to rinse, or rinse all the soapy dishes at once. Or, fill a second sink with rinse water and use that instead. When washing dishes by hand, use the least amount of detergent possible; this will minimize the amount of water needed for rinsing. Let your pots and pans soak instead of letting water run while you clean them.
- Don’t let the faucet run while you clean vegetables. Rinse them in a filled sink or pan, and use this water for watering your garden or house plants.
- Use the garbage disposal less and consider composting.
Plumbing
- Fix leaky faucets and plumbing joints.
- Install aerators on every faucet and reduce water flow to less than 1 gallon per minute.
- Insulate water pipes to avoid wasting water while waiting for hot water to flow.
- If you don’t have a water-efficient toilet, put a plastic bottle or plastic bag weighted with pebbles and filled with water in your toilet tank to displace water so it will use less water each flush. Installing a high-efficiency toilet will save up to 19 gallons each day per person.
- Check your toilet for leaks by putting dye tablets or food coloring in the tank. If color appears in the bowl without flushing, there’s a leak that should be repaired.
- Check to ensure that your toilet’s flapper valve doesn’t stay open after flushing.
Other Tips
- Instead of letting the tap water run to cool it for drinking, keep a bottle of drinking water in the refrigerator.
- Select one glass to use for drinking each day. It will take your dishwasher longer to fill up, and it will not need to be used as frequently.
- Don’t defrost frozen foods with running water; plan ahead by placing frozen items in the refrigerator the night before, or use a microwave to defrost them.
Outdoors
- Wash your car at a self-service car wash. This uses 14 gallons of water compared to 100 gallons from a garden hose wash.
- Don’t run the hose when washing your car. Use a spray stopper, a bucket, and give it a quick rinse at the end.
Lawns & Gardens
- Plant native grasses, succulents and other drought-tolerant plants such as lavender, sage, rosemary or lantana that use less water than many plants.
- Use native plants in your garden that are by nature drought-tolerant. Place a layer of mulch around trees and plants to slow down evaporation. Save 20-30 gallons per 1,000 square foot.
- Add compost or an organic matter to soil as necessary, to improve soil conditions and water retention.
- Only water plants enough to keep them alive.
- When mowing your lawn, set the mower blades to 2-3 inches high. Longer grass shades the soil, improving moisture retention, and has more leaf surface to take in sunlight, allowing it to grow thicker and develop a deeper root system. This helps grass survive drought, tolerate insect damage and fend off disease.
- Leave lawn clippings on your grass. This cools the ground and holds in moisture.
- Although it will turn brown and look dead. Dormant grass only needs to be watered every three to four weeks, less if it rains, water your grass enough to keep it alive.
- If you must water, water during the cooler parts of the day. Do not water between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m., otherwise some of the water will be lost to evaporation.
- Avoiding watering on windy days as it can push the water to the sidewalks and too much of it can be lost to evaporation.
- Use rainwater recapture for plant and irrigation needs. You can save up to 934 gallons per 1 inch of rain on a 1,500-square-foot house.
- Additionally, you can use gray water or water you’ve collected for irrigation and plants.
- Adjust or deactivate automatic sprinklers on cool, overcast days, and when it’s raining. Turn them back on only when needed. Or install a weather-based, smart sprinkler system with an automatic rain shut off device.
- Water your landscape in cycles by reducing the number of minutes on your timer and using multiple start times spaced one hour apart. This allows the water to soak into the soil and avoids wasting the water to runoff.
- Adjust your sprinkler heads so that the water lands on the lawn or garden where it belongs and not on the sidewalk or street. Visually inspect your sprinkler system once a month during daylight hours to make sure there are no leaks and that it is spraying the area correctly.
- If you have a lawn, aerate your lawn by punching small holes in it about six inches apart. This will allow water to penetrate to the roots and lessen runoff.
- Install drip irrigation systems where possible so water goes to the root of a plant.
Resources
https://sanmiguelwatershed.org/uploads/docs/water/waterRightsSummary.pdf
https://www.watereducation.org/post/water-conservation-tips