SAN JUAN RIVER - AREA 09

Updated: February 17, 2005

DESCRIPTION:        Located in the southeastern corner of the state in San Juan County, this area extends from T32S to the Arizona state line at T43S.  The major stream in this area is the San Juan River, which marks the northern boundary of the Navajo Indian Reservation and runs westward into Lake Powell.  The Abajo (Blue) Mountains give rise to Spring Creek, North Fork Creek, South Fork Creek, Verdure Creek, and Montezuma Creek which flow eastward toward the Monticello area, and Johnson Creek and Recapture Creek which drains the Blanding area.  This area is bordered on the north and west by the Colorado River and the Kane Springs Creek drainage, on the east by Colorado, and on the south by Arizona.  The highest point in the area is 11,360 foot Abajo Peak in the Abajo Mountains, while the lowest is the confluence with the Green River at about 3,700 feet, giving a total relief of about 7,660 feet.  Click here to see a map of the area.

MANAGEMENT:     A Proposed Determination of Water Rights is currently being compiled.  There are court decrees in this area covering the waters of Spring, North Fork, South Fork, Verdure, and Montezuma Creeks.  There is one state-administered distribution system in this area, the Blue Mountain Distribution System is administered by the Blue Mountain Commissioner.  Because this area is part of the Colorado River basin, the conditions of the 1922 Colorado River Compact, the 1944 Mexican Treaty and the 1948 Upper Colorado River Compact and the State Engineer's Colorado River Policy apply.  In 1999, the State Engineer issued a Ground-water Management Policy for the Monticello Mill Tailings Site and Adjacent Areas which sets conditions for appropriating and changing ground water in the Monticello area.  There are two federal reserved water right settlement  agreements in this area.  In 2000, an agreement was made covering the water rights for Hovenweep National Monument .  A similar agreement was signed in 2002 concerning Rainbow Bridge National Monument.  Click here to see statistics for this area.

SOURCES:
SURFACE & GROUND WATER - The water resources of this area are considered to be limited.  New appropriations are limited to small amounts of beneficial use, not to exceed 5.73 acre-feet per year.  Temporary and fixed-time appropriations are limited to the amount of water needed to irrigate 60 acres or an equivalent amount for other uses.  Blanding, Bluff, and Monticello are open to well applications within the city limits because they do not have adequate community systems.  Changes are considered on their individual merits, with emphasis on their potential to interfere with existing rights and to ensure that there is no enlargement of the underlying rights.  Fixed-time and temporary applications are evaluated in a similar fashion.  Applicants are placed on notice that development should be pursued as soon as possible, and requests for extensions of time in which to file proof will be critically reviewed after an initial five year period.

GENERAL:                Applications are advertised in the San Juan Record.  Filings that may involve the diversion of water in Utah for use in Arizona or Colorado (export) would be subject to the special criteria the statutes require for such projects.  The general irrigation diversion duty for this area, which the State Engineer uses for evaluation purposes, is 4.0 acre-feet per acre per year.  The consumptive use requirement is determined from the publication Consumptive Use of Irrigated Crops in Utah , Research Report 145, Utah State University, 1994, unless the applicant submits other data for consideration.  This area is administered by the Southeastern Regional Office in Price.

REFERENCES:         Technical Publication No. 15, Water from Bedrock in the Colorado Plateau of Utah; Utah State Engineer; 1966.

Technical Publication No. 84, Ground-water Conditions in the Lake Powell Area, Utah; Utah Department of Natural Resources; 1986.

Technical Publication No. 86, Bedrock Aquifers of Eastern San Juan County, Utah; Utah Department of Natural Resources; 1986.

Technical Publication No. 94, The Base of Moderately Saline Water in San Juan County, Utah; Utah Department of Natural Resources; 1990.

MODELING:            Four Corners Area, Mesozoic Rocks Ground-water Flow Model, 1988.