All,

I would like to welcome Paul Eckenrode and Bob Croll to our Pine River 

of the Vallecito Lake Chamber of Commerce.  He also owns the company 

“360Durango” – a business, marketing and media company. Bob is the 

owner of Croll Cabins at Vallecito Reservoir.

I have included two attachments. The first is a copy of a social media 

/ face book post that was circulated just before I returned to work 

from New York on June 4th.  It expresses some misconception of how 

Vallecito Dam is currently being operated by the “…frighten new 

Superintendent…,” etc. I think that it is important for all of us to 

be knowledgeable about the different thinking in our community 

regarding Vallecito Dam and Reservoir.  More importantly, that we stay 

focused on the legal and binding requirements of operating the 

Reservoir.  And, that we keep a healthy sense of humor in 

accomplishing that objective while trying to be considerate of the 

wants of concerned citizens and recreation interests.

I received a call from Paul yesterday.  He offered his services in 

getting factual information out to the public.  Thanks Paul.

To reiterate our longstanding mission, the Hydrology Team will 

continue, as always, to operate the reservoir for the purposes of 

flood control and irrigation in a safe, smooth manner, and in an 

effort to keep the reservoir full for as long a possible.

The second attachment is an e-mail I received from Jim Clay on May 

30th.  Jim is the President of Pine River Ranches and a member of our 

group e-mail list.

The Hydrology Team met yesterday (June 5th).  Susan Behery (BOR 

Hydrologist), Cory Beaugh (River and Reservoir Operations/Coordinator, 

CDWR) and myself.  Jim Clay joined us at the end of the meeting.  Jim, 

again, I apologize for the confusion regarding the location of the 

meeting.  Thank you again for your interest in Hydrology Team’s work.

Susan provided the latest CBRFC forecast for Vallecito.  The June 5th 

to July 15th forecast is 150 kaf.  We need approximately 50 kaf to 

fill.  Consequently, we must bypass 100 kaf.  As we have repeatedly 

reported to you, the spring moisture we have received and the 

unseasonal cool temperatures have added to and slowed the release of 

high elevation runoff.  Remember our safe channel capacity was 

historically limited to 2,000 cfs.  During the flooding conditions at 

Vallecito in 2015, the BOR and the U.S. Corps of Engineers redefined 

and clarified that limit at 2,500 cfs. Any flows above 2,500 cfs would 

be considered a violation of our safe channel capacity.

Bottomline –  The added moisture we have received and cool 

temperatures are moving us in a position where we are bumping up 

against (if not a smidgen over) the Corps Water Control Diagram for 

safe channel capacity, coupled with the amount of time we have to 

address peak runoff issues. Please reference Section 7 of the Flood 

Control Act.  We will now take the necessary action and steps to 

correct that condition.  Instead of increasing flow from where we 

currently are at approximately 700 cfs, and bumping to 1, 000 cfs, we 

will maximize our releases out of the Power Plant and the High 

Pressure Gate – Gate 3.  This adjustment will increase flows to 1,500 

plus cfs.   It will also, at present condition, put us in full 

compliance with the mandatory Corps flood control requirements.

We will start making the release adjustments at 9:00 AM this morning 

(June 6th).  As a reminder, we are restricted to increasing flows in 

200 cfs increments on two (2) hour intervals. The following table 

approximates our release schedule for today.

Pine River Release Schedule – June 6, 2019

Time      Amount of Increase        Total Release

9:00 AM     200 cfs                     900 cfs

11:00 AM    200 cfs                  1,100 cfs

1:00 PM      200 cfs                     1,300 cfs

3:00 PM     200 cfs                    1,500 cfs

5:00 PM               Maximize PP and HPG    1,500 plus cfs

The next Hydrology Meeting is planned for Thursday, June 13, 2019, at 

9:00 am at the PRID Office.  As always, please don’t hesitate to call 

or text if you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions.

I have also established a new e-mail address to expedite handling 

misinformed concerns by some members of the public.  Hopefully this 

will help us quickly bridge our differences.  That address is 

fraidycatken@spookeasy.com.  I will response promptly after receiving 

the notification/concern!

Be Well!

Ken Beck, Superintendent

Pine River Irrigation District

970-903-6051 (C)

970-884-2558 (W)