Laserfiche WebLink
<br />JUNE 2008 DROUGHT UPDATE <br />Water Availability Task Force Co-Chairs <br />Veva Deheza, CWCB - 303-866-3441 ext 3226 Kevin Rein, DWR - 303-866-3581 ext 8239 <br />. <br />Email - veva.deheza@state co.us Email – kevin.rein@state.co.us <br />Executive Summary <br />The 2007-08 La Niña* event appears to be winding down a nd will have little effect for the rest of the summer. <br />Forecasters predictions are mixed between a renewed La Niña * conditions to weak El Niño by the fall. Colorado has <br />experienced a sixth consecutive month of below average temp eratures which has not happened since the early 1990s. <br />Statewide streamflow remains average to above average wh ich means the runoff has been above average or normal in <br />every basin with a few exceptions. High snowpack has helped keep temperatur es cool in the mountains which have <br />delayed the snowmelt into June, which h as not been seen in many years. <br />Statewide, June has been a dry month in terms of precip itation. The Eastern Plains have been especially dry. <br />The Southeastern part of the state has been experi encing Agricultural drought and Baca County has been <br />experiencing both Agricultural and Hydrological drought. The Governor has asked for a declaration for Drought <br />th <br />Disaster to get federal loans for ranchers and farmers and may wait until July 14 for assistance. <br />Statewide, Colorado’s streamflow is between 70-150% of average. The Arkansas, Rio Grande and Gunnison <br />basins experienced cool temperatures that delayed norma l runoff. The Gunnison basin experienced ideal runoff <br />conditions which kept flooding issues to a minimum in critical areas. <br />Gov. Bill Ritter asked the federal government for drought relief for farmers and ranchers in four southeast <br />Colorado counties. Despite the above-avera ge snowfall in the Colorado mountains this past winter, some parts of <br />southeast Colorado have seen only 19 percent of normal precipitation. Specifically, Gov. Ritter is seeking <br />permission for immediate haying and grazing on federal Conservation Reserve Program acres for farmers and <br />ranchers in Baca, Bent, Kiowa and Prowers counties. <br />Statewide, reservoir storage ranges from 84%-111% of av erage. Denver and Aurora Water have reported full <br />reservoirs. Centennial Water & Sanitation District, in Douglas County, has had a new reservoir built but has not <br />been filled due to water leaving because of calls on ex isting senior water rights. Reservoir storage in the <br />Gunnison basin will improve due to above average runoff. <br />Because of the above average snowpack, municipal users and other irrigators have relied on natural runoff and <br />streamflow rather than using reservoir supplies for irriga tion needs. This is not necessarily the case in the South <br />Platte basin where it is questionable how high the runoff will be without significant rainfall. <br />** <br />According to the Colorado Water Supply Index (SWSI) , the values range from a high value of +2.4 in the <br />Gunnison basin to a low value of +0.8 in the Rio Grande basin . The Yampa/White basin’s SWSI value was the <br />biggest change in value, +1.1. The Rio Grande basi n experienced the largest drop in SWSI value, -1.6. <br />* <br />Sea surface temperatures at the Equato r in the Pacific Ocean impact global climate patterns. Depending on <br /> these patterns, Colorado could be experi encing El Niño or La Niña conditions. <br />** <br />SWSI values are based on streamflow, reservoir storage and precipitation for the summer period (May-Oct). <br />