Short Film/June water levels help!

[wdb2103]

What a great forum and community here.

I'm hoping to get your help. I'm doing a small little short film near Terlingua and Lajitas in early June. There are two important scenes that take place in the river -- one where the characters jump in/swim/lie on their backs in a river, the other where they push in a "body" in a river and watch it sink.

We've been in touch with some great river guides there, and they're afraid that most of the river will be dry by then. They probably know best, but I wanted to try asking you guys if you had any thoughts or suggestions.

Do you think the whole river will be bone-dry? Do you think there might be a few places where, if they can't jump in, at least they can stand knee or waist-deep in the water? Ideally, either location would be road-accessible or a short hike from a road.

I've been to BB before, and will be going for another day or two in mid-May, but never in June, and I'm not super familiar with the river there, so it's hard for me to gauge. Any and all leads would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you so much.

David

[badknees]

In April 2003, the river dried up through Mariscal Canyon, however I have never seen it dry. With average rainfall in Mexico to the west I doubt you will see it dry this year unless there is a severe drought in the Rio Conchos watershed. Levels have been about average recently. It is possible for flooding if Mexico gets hammered by big rains, as they sometimes release a lot of water from L. Leon reservoir into the Rio Conchos. Summer rains in Mexico resulted in massive Sept 2008 floods.

I'm not sure which river guides you talked to, but they may be referring to "dry" as, not being able conduct raft trips, not literally bone dry.

Keep an eye on the NPS BIBE website daily report for river levels. 3-5 ft at Rio Grande Village is about an average level.