Colorado drought crisis
- Colorado is now entirely under drought classification, with expanding impacts and growing wildfire risk. - The Colorado River Basin saw roughly one-quarter of its typical snowpack this year, cutting expected reservoir inflows. - Utilities and districts are imposing limits, including Colorado Springs' Water Wise rules starting May 1 and mandatory local restrictions. (koaa.com)(gjsentinel.com)(kktv.com)(pagosasun.com)
Colorado is now entirely in drought, with 4.7 million residents living in affected areas as of the U.S. Drought Monitor update released April 16. (droughtmonitor.unl.edu) (drought.gov) The map uses five categories, from abnormally dry to exceptional drought, and Colorado’s statewide drought coverage rose after the state posted its second-driest March on record and its fourth-driest January-through-March since 1895. (drought.gov) Snowpack is the mountain snow that melts into rivers and reservoirs through spring and summer, and this year Colorado’s statewide snowpack was just 17% of median on April 22. (wcc.nrcs.usda.gov) Across the Upper Colorado River Basin, the snow-water equivalent — the water stored in snow — was about 23% of median on April 20, and the Colorado Basin River Forecast Center put Lake Powell’s April-through-July inflow forecast at 1.4 million acre-feet, or 22% of average. (snowpack.water-data.com) (cbrfc.noaa.gov) (www.cbrfc.noaa.gov) Federal water managers are already adjusting operations. The Bureau of Reclamation said April 20 that the most probable 2026 water-year inflow to Lake Powell is 3.87 million acre-feet, or 40% of average, and said releases from Glen Canyon Dam may end up below the previously projected 7.48 million acre-feet. (usbr.gov) Colorado Springs Utilities said low snowpack, warmer-than-normal temperatures and faster snowmelt will cut the water flowing into its system by about half this year. Its Water Wise rules allow outdoor watering up to three days a week, and from May 1 through Oct. 15 only before 10 a.m. or after 6 p.m. (csu.org) In Pagosa Springs, the Pagosa Area Water and Sanitation District moved to voluntary drought restrictions on April 7 after snow-water-equivalent levels fell below 75% of median, the trigger in its drought plan. (pawsd.org) By April 22, that district had escalated to mandatory drought restrictions after weeks of worsening conditions, while local officials and residents were also watching low flows, severe to extreme drought and a difficult wildfire outlook. (pagosasun.com) The state’s drought map is updated weekly, and local rules can tighten faster than statewide designations. In Colorado this spring, the water problem is already moving from forecasts into operating limits. (droughtmonitor.unl.edu) (csu.org) (pagosasun.com)
