CIBOLA COUNTY, N.M. – The first week of February opened with a familiar split in Cibola County’s water picture: Bluewater Lake continued its slow winter decline, the Rio San Jose held flat, and snowpack remained well below normal despite a few encouraging gains in late January.
Together, the numbers show that while moisture has arrived in the Zuni Mountains, the basin still has a long way to go before winter snowpack can meaningfully support spring runoff and reservoir recovery.
Bluewater Lake
U.S. Geological Survey data shows Bluewater Lake at 4,422 acre-feet as of 3:15 p.m. on Feb. 2, down from 4,445 acrefeet recorded Jan. 26. That’s a decline of 23 acre-feet in about a week, continuing the gradual drawdown that has persisted since late summer.
Winter declines are typically slower than summer losses, but the weekto- week slide remains important because it reflects limited inflow and continued strain on the reservoir following a dry 2025.
Rio San Jose
The Rio San Jose gauge at Acoma Pueblo measured 1.85 feet on Feb. 2, unchanged from the Jan. 26 reading. The river has held at this level for several weeks, indicating stable but shallow base flow and no measurable response yet to late-January rainfall.
Snowpack Update – Zuni/Bluewater River Basin
Snowpack remains well below average for this point in the season.
At the NRCS SNOTEL Rice Park site (8,480 feet), snow water equivalent measured 1.8 inches on Feb. 2. That compares to a median of 4.6 inches for the date and places the basin at 39 percent of normal.
For perspective, the basin’s median peak snowpack is 6.0 inches, typically reached in early March, meaning the region is still far behind where it would normally be heading into the heart of runoff season.