CARLSBAD, NM - Flows from Dark Canyon Arroyo reached Carlsbad this afternoon creating a spike in Pecos River flows.
The Pecos River reached about 13,000 cubic-feet-per-second on the southern edge of Carlsbad where Dark Canyon Arroyo meets the river. The City of Carlsbad has closed a bridge along U.S. 285 connecting north and south Carlsbad as a precaution. The river channel capacity is 20,000 cubic-feet-per-second through Carlsbad.
The flow past Avalon Dam is now approximately 6,000 cfs, but the National Weather Service reports that all storms are rapidly diminishing in the area.
The Bureau of Reclamation is coordinating with the Carlsbad Irrigation District and the Eddy County Emergency Manager.
Anyone in the vicinity of the Pecos from Artesia south to the Texas border should be alert and listen for any directions from Eddy County. If you are not working with area law enforcement, emergency management, the irrigation district or Reclamation, please stay away from Avalon Dam and the Pecos. Reclamation continues to operate under a Response Level 1 for Avalon. This means there is a slowly developing or unusual situation at the dam.
Although water levels in all reservoirs along the Pecos have significantly increased in the last 24-hours, plenty of storage space remains at Santa Rosa, Sumner and Brantley Reservoirs and all structures remain sound.
Source: Bureau of Reclamation
