NEWS RELEASE Contact: Laura Banish, Public Information Officer,
	955-6046 Gary Martinez, Director, Water Division (505) 955-4201
	
	Santa Fe River Planned Management Release
	
	The Santa Fe River is flowing today! Because of the unprecedented
	amount of precipitation last fall and winter, the City of Santa
	Fe is managing reservoir releases to the Santa Fe River at a rate
	of approximately 1 million gallons per day (MGD).
	
	Currently, the City's Reservoirs are at 83 percent capacity and
	the snow melt runoff will fill the reservoirs faster than the
	city can treat water for the community's potable water supply.
	If additional rain or snow events occur, the reservoir releases
	may extend into the month of May and increase up to 5 MGD for a
	potential fishing opportunity.
	
	The City of Santa Fe continues to treat and utilize as much of
	our surface water supply for the potable water supply as is
	feasible.
	
	Water Division Director, Gary Martinez, said, "The planned
	management release benefits the health of the watershed by
	recharging the aquifer in the vicinity of the Santa Fe River,
	providing for the health of the riparian zone habitat, decreasing
	the fire danger within the Santa Fe River corridor and
	maintaining flood control for the City of Santa Fe."
	
	Martinez emphasized that Santa Fe is still between a drought year
	and an average year of precipitation and the city's release of
	water is only because of managed storage of reservoir supplies
	and the accumulated rain of fall 2006. According to the U.S.D.A.,
	Natural Resources Conservation Service, the March 1 streamflow
	forecast for the Santa Fe River is 76 percent of the yearly
	average. Conservation of water is always in season and something
	Santa Fe must continuously practice in preparation for any
	consecutive drought years.