Elephant Butte Drops 23% in a Week, San Juan-Colorado Runs 109% Above Normal

Elephant Butte Reservoir fell to 57,487 acre-feet this week, a 23% week-over-week decline that leaves storage 59% below its five-year median, according to Bureau of Reclamation data. The Rio Grande at USGS gauge 08358400 remains at 0.0 cfs, 100% below its five-year median, meaning the basin is drawing down with no meaningful inflow during peak irrigation season.

Conditions in the upper basin run the other way. The San Juan River at USGS gauge 09355500 reached 1,050 cfs, up 26% on the week and 109% above its five-year median. The Bear River at USGS gauge 10126000 hit 425 cfs, 176% above its five-year median and the largest positive deviation in this week's dataset. Blue Mesa Reservoir on the Gunnison sits at 276,818 acre-feet, 51% below its five-year median and off another 5% on the week, per Bureau of Reclamation data.

California's Department of Water Resources lifted the statewide SWP 2026 allocation to 45% of contract supply, up from 30%, while the Bureau of Reclamation raised the CVP South-of-Delta irrigation allocation to 20% and the South-of-Delta municipal and industrial allocation to 70%. Drought monitors in Fresno, Kern and Kings counties have reached zero, each 100% below their five-year norms. Colorado's drought monitor for district 08 reads 93, still 123% above its five-year median, and Wyoming's district 56 holds at 100, also above normal.