Lake Nighthorse
| Lake Nighthorse | |
|---|---|
| Location | Colorado |
| Coordinates | 37°13′29.99″N 107°54′53.16″W / 37.2249972°N 107.9147667°WCoordinates: 37°13′29.99″N 107°54′53.16″W / 37.2249972°N 107.9147667°W |
| Type | reservoir |
| Primary inflows | Durango Pumping Plant (Animas River) |
| Primary outflows | Basin Creek (Outflow returns to the Animas River) |
| Basin countries | United States |
| Surface area | 1,490 acres (600 ha) |
| Water volume | 120,000 acre feet (150,000,000 m3) |
Lake Nighthorse is a reservoir created by the 270 feet (82 m) high Ridges Basin Dam Southwest of Durango in La Plata County Colorado. As part of the Animas-La Plata Water Project, Lake Nighthorse provides water storage for tribal and water right claim-holders along the Animas River.
First authorized by the U.S. Congress on September 30, 1968 (Public Law 90-537), the Animas-La Plata Water Project, as it came to be known, experience several decades of delays due in part to political concerns, farming claims, environmental challenges, cost overruns and government funding issues. A breakthrough to the delays came with the Colorado Ute Settlement Act Amendments in December 2000 (Public Law 106-554).
The Bureau of Reclamation began construction in 2003, with the reservoir filling to capacity on June 29, 2011 at a total cost of $500 million. Lake Nighthorse is named in honor of former United States Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell, R-Colo.
The lake is currently closed to the public. However, as of March 2015, the Bureau of Reclamation was working with the City of Durango on a recreation lease and annexation agreement, as well as a cultural resource management plan to comply with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. Additional construction at the reservoir is planned to start in the summer of 2015.
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