Stollsteimer Creek Watershed Project

You may be asking, what is a watershed? Well, it is exactly what the name implies. A watershed is defined as an area of land where the majority of the water drains into the nearby streams, rivers or creeks. It is similar to a large catch basin.

One watershed of concern to us in the Pagosa Springs area is the Stollsteimer Creek Watershed. As development and growth continue to affect our area, protection will be paramount in the preservation of this natural resource. Here is a map of the project.

The San Juan Water Conservation District sponsored an important watershed study in the Stollsteimer Creek Watershed area. This watershed encompasses approximately an 82,000 acre area from the lower portions of the Pagosa Peak area down to the confluence of Stollsteimer Creek and the Piedra River and includes portions of the Town of Pagosa Springs, all of the Pagosa Lakes subdivisions, portions of the National Forest, Southern Ute Tribal lands, large portions of the Pagosa Area Water and Sanitation District and most of Aspen Springs.

Everyone realizes the importance of water in our community, but to date nobody has really focused on a watershed study that looks at the whole picture. This watershed study has an ultimate goal of creating a Master Watershed Plan document that would include a detailed study of the watershed and recommendations and design plans to improve and protect the watershed.

This has been a multi-entity effort including private landowners, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Pagosa Lakes Property Owners Association (PLPOA), Pagosa Area Water and Sanitation District (PAWSD), the Town of Pagosa Springs, Archuleta County, the US Forest Service (USFS), the Colorado State University Extension Service, the Colorado State Forest Service (CSFS) and the Southern Ute Tribe.

The need for this plan has never been more critical than it is now. The population growth within the watershed has been extraordinary in the last 10 years and is predicted to continue. With this growth many of the traditional uses of water in the watershed are being threatened.

This project produced a comprehensive plan in the fall of 2006 that looks at the watershed from many viewpoints. Contact any one of the entities mentioned above or call 731-3615 for more details.