Hear ye all rafters, canoeists and kayakers. Grab your paddle! . . . and fast, because boating days are numbered on the lower Dolores, with the season expected to end on Monday, May 22.

McPhee dam releases are scheduled to end sooner than expected, according to John Porter, manager for the Dolores Water Conservancy District, which regulates downstream releases. That’s because dry, balmy spring days combined with steady winds in the mountains have melted off or evaporated this year’s snowpack prematurely.

Earlier predictions had the season extending into June.

The cutoff ensures that the remaining spring runoff will fill McPhee Reservoir to capacity so that irrigators will have the water they need in order to produce this year’s crop of alfalfa and pinto beans. The reservoir also provides municipal water for Cortez, Dove Creek and Towaoc.

"Unless it storms, there will be no release over the Memorial Day weekend," Porter said. "The season cannot be extended after May 22 because at that point the runoff flowing into McPhee will equal (irrigation) demand. We have to insure the lake will fill."

However, Porter said that he had a "gut feeling that the season will go a little longer," based on how much snow can be seen in the mountains right now. That will be determined on a day-to-day basis after May 22, and will be announced via the Internet at www.doloreswater.com or the USGS site for all Colorado rivers at http://nwis-colo.cr.usgs.gov.

Runoff prediction is far from an exact science because there are so many uncontrollable natural variables that determine how much snowpack eventually drains into the lake, variables that also affect irrigation demand. The tough situation has managers constantly tweaking their tactics on the relatively new reservoir to appease commercial and private boaters who rely on the flow for business or pleasure, and irrigators and municipal users who have already paid for use of the Dolores Project water.

"Right now demand for irrigation water is higher than normal in the Towaoc Canal, so that is affecting our decision also," Porter said. "Hindsight tells us that the spill should not have started as early as it did, but without the normal precipitation as expected in the spring, the forecast runoff dropped from 102 percent on April 1 down to 72 percent of normal."

Over the years the release process has been improved considerably, Porter said, thanks to a new informative website on flows and the district’s plans, in addition to historical data since the reservoir was completed in 1989. Porter said he receives about ten calls a day from rafters wondering what to expect.

"Of course rafters do not have much sympathy for dams, but 99 percent of them understand what we are up against when they call and really I enjoy talking to them."

"We’ve been directing a good amount of people toward the Dolores, mostly locals, but out-of-towners too," said Andy Corra, owner of Four Corners River Sports. "Business has been busy, but this year the season looks like it will be pretty short, so we will have to wait and see."