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La Plata River Basin

Division 7 · Water District 33 · As of 2026-10-07 05:17 MDT · 11 days ago

Who may take water from the La Plata River Basin, who is calling for it today, and how it is running, compiled from Colorado Division of Water Resources records. Click anything on the map for its record.

Live · machine-built

La Plata River Basin on the ground — the ditches, wells, reservoirs and gages of Water District 33 · clicktap anything for its record

Browse this district’s ditches, gages, reservoirs, wells and springs as a list.

96% of normal flow, week of 2026-09-21
0 calls the record places on it, 3 unsettled

The La Plata River is near normal for late September -- 96% of normal flow, its 5th-wettest such week in 109 years of record. No call that the record places on it is active right now. DWR's statements do not settle whether 3 more calls reach it. This year's runoff outlook, issued 2026-06-01, called for 27% of normal.

Schematic

Historical

Evolution of the network

Hydrographs vs. historical envelope

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Snowpack — no snow on the ground at 1 SNOTEL site — normal for the date; the snow year begins in October and typically peaks around April 17. Runoff outlook — La Plata R at Hesperus: even odds of at least 2 kAF over 06-01 to 07-31 — 27% of a normal season, per NRCS, issued 2026-06-01 — the season’s final; new forecasts begin in January. Full snow & runoff picture — charts, forecast history and how the forecasts have verified →

Sites, exceedance bands and sources
SNOTEL siteElev (ft)SWE (in)Median (in)% of medianTypical peak
Columbus Basin10780 0.80.0 — April 17 (25.8 in)

La Plata R at Hesperus — 06-01 to 07-31 volume, thousand acre-feet (chance the volume is AT LEAST this):

90%70%50%30%10%Normal
11224 6

Snow-water equivalent and medians (1991–2020) from NRCS SNOTEL; seasonal volume forecasts from the NRCS National Water and Climate Center. Sites and forecast points are assigned to the district whose boundary contains them — snowpack that feeds this district can also sit in a neighboring headwater district. Toggle the Snow chip on the map above to see the sites.

Topology cross-check: 2 parent disagreements, 2 sizable streams not on this network (vs DWR's route framework — under review)

This flow network was built mechanically; DWR's Source Water Route Framework disagrees with it in the places below. Each row is a question a human reviewer has not yet answered — not an error verdict. Checked 7 streams, 5 agree. Know this water? Tell us →

StreamThis site routes it toDWR routes it to
Cinder Gulch the mainstem no parent named
McDermott Arroyo the mainstem no parent named

Sizable streams DWR maps here that this network does not carry:

San Juan Arroyo (11 mi) · Deadwood Creek (4 mi)

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