Daytime temperatures will reach into the mid-40s and above for the week, while the overnight lows will remain in double digits instead of the single digit or sub-zero temperatures that usually mark the month of December. The calendar says there are 9 more shopping days till Christmas. The weather will fool you into thinking otherwise. More below to get the week started:
1. The year in water: Warming temperatures leading to a new ‘normal’
The Rio Grande here at the end of 2025 is flowing 100 cfs higher than an average year, according to the Colorado Division of Water Resources. In other words there is more water in the river than is typical for December and all seems hunky-dory. Except that it is not. Warming falls, short winters, early springs seem to be the new ‘normal’ as we look at 2025 in the rearview mirror.
2. Mexico and the Rio Bravo
The U.S. Department of Agriculture over the weekend announced “an understanding” for Mexico to meet more of its water obligations under a 1944 Water Treaty, which is enforced through the International Boundary And Water Commission headquartered down the Rio Grande in El Paso, TX. The agreed-upon understanding for Mexico to release 202,000 acre-feet of water this month seems to satisfy for now a push by the Trump Administration, which had threatened to impose a 5 percent tariff on Mexican imports if Mexico didn’t come to the table. Under the agreement Mexico is supposed to deliver a minimum of 350,000 acre-feet of water per year over five-year cycles, totaling 1.75 million acre-feet over the full period. Long-established drought conditions and the warming climate have Mexico under-delivering on the agreement. According to the IBWC’s accounting from October 2025, Mexico has delivered but 50.6 percent of the water owed under the historic treaty. While dryness is a factor, Mexico has also failed to reduce its own consumption of irrigated water, adding greater problems to the accounting of water.
3. Colorado and the Rio Grande
Speaking of water obligations, Colorado will deliver an estimated 125,000 acre-feet to the New Mexico state line to meet its obligations under the Rio Grande Compact, according to state water division engineer Craig Cotten. Colorado is estimating a total annual flow of 495,000 acre-feet on the Upper Rio Grande Basin in the water year of 2025. The heavy rains from October left Valley irrigators with “very good” soil moisture heading into winter. The snow that does arrive ahead of spring should provide local farmers with a solid start to the 2026 planting season.
4. The Valley Pod: Wins in the battle against opioids
You hear Region 18 Opioid Settlement Governance Council, an outcome of Attorney General Phil Weiser’s settlement with big Pharma, and you can’t grasp the recovery work happening within. Then you sit and listen to Alex McDonald, the coordinator of the council, and Alamosa County Commissioner Lori Laske and you begin to understand the miracle of what’s happening. Opioid deaths are way down from the high counts at the start of this decade. McDonald and Laske talk about the recovery that’s happening instead.
5. A last note on Lewis H. Entz
The lasting question in the legacy of Lewis H. Entz is the H in his name, which he always used in life and on the extensive number of legislative bills he authored. “When my twin sister and I were brought home from the hospital, we went by Homelake. It’s been in my mind ever since,” he told a magazine writer in 2004. The former state senator from Hooper died Wednesday, Dec. 10. A visitation service is scheduled at Rogers Family Mortuary in Alamosa on Friday, Jan. 2 from 4 to 6 p.m. Funeral services will be held on Saturday, Jan. 3.
6. Adams’ fall graduation
Adams State held its fall commencement on Saturday, with 72 bachelor’s degrees awarded and 46 master’s degrees. Giselle Molina-Valadez delivered the student commencement address.
7. Pssst! There’s still time to give …
When it comes to fundraising … well, we’d rather report the news. But without your support we can’t make sure the Valley has the timely, accurate local news and information source it deserves. The Citizen is locally owned with deep roots in the community. Every dollar we raise stays right here in the Valley. Through Dec. 31, we are partnering with Colorado Media Project and Colorado Gives to match your tax-deductible gift. And, as always, thanks for reading The Citizen. You are why we are here.