Summary of Select Water Storage and Flow Conditions

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i . -2- Reservoir Storage A summary of the status of select reservoir storage and reservoir capacity is provided in Figure 1. The storage contents of these major South Platte reservoirs reflect the continuing drought conditions which Colorado faced during the last water year. Compared to this time last year, reservoir levels are only slightly better. Figure 3 shows reservoir storage for Colorado with the South Platte basin estimated to be near normal storage patterns at 79 percent of average. Even though reservoir levels are close to normal for the year, we anticipate that diversions to storage will be a priority this fall and winter and will continue as long as weather conditions allow. Snow Pack State wide snow pack for Colorado was last reported for June 2003 and reporting will begin again next month. Figures 4, 5 and 6 show snowpack for June 2003. The reader can see that the blizzard in March allowed for almost normal snowpack conditions in the Cache la Poudre basin, but that conditions did not improve much over the rest of the South Platte. Even with the late spring snows, snowpack statewide was still only 32 percent of average. In the South Platte (Figure 5) the snowpack went from over 100 percent of average in April to 58 percent of average in June. This rapid reduction in snow pack is reflected in the lack of any runoff peak (Figure 2). The Surface Water Supply Index (SWSn is an indicator of mountain-based water supply conditions developed by the Natural Resource Conservation Office and the Colorado State Engineers Office. The 5WSI is based on snow pack, reservoir storage, and precipitation for November through April. During the winter, snow pack is given the most emphasis, except on the South Platte where reservoir storage is given the most weight. During the summer actual stream flow conditions begins to replace snow pack. The SWSI for Colorado as of September 2003 is shown in Figure 7. The SWSI for the South Platte basin is +1.2 indicating near normal conditions. III. SLTMMARY As of September 2003 we are expecting the impacts of the drought to continue. Current long-range weather forecasts are predicting average winter conditions, which may help reservoir levels somewhat, but will not alleviate the effects of four consecutive years of below average precipitation. Continuing low reservoir conditions suggest that next year will be a below average flow year. Flood Protection • Water Project Planning and Financing • Stream and Lake Protection Water Supply Protection • Conservation Planning