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Date: May 24, 2009

The Luis Leon reservoir on the Rio Conchos in Mexico will be releasing water over the next few weeks. Visitors may notice that the river is higher than usual. Flow rates may increase from 50 cubic meters per second to 100 cubic meters per second. The reservoir needed to release water due to their reservoir exceeding the full pool level from recent rains.

In areas where the river spreads out over a flood plain, the rise will probably not be noticeable since so much water soaks out into the deep sand. In the canyons the river may be noticeably higher as the river flows mostly over bedrock.

Possible impacts include the hot springs at Rio Grande village being inundated, deeper water along the length of the river which will improve conditions for rafting, and possibly larger rapids in some canyon river sections.

The rise will likely be at most a few feet of depth. This is a small flow rate increase and no structures are threatened. By mid to late June the river level will subside.