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Reservoir Storage <br />A suminary of the status of select reservoir storage and reservoir capacity is provided in Figure 1. Generally, the <br />storage contents of these major South Platte reservoirs are below average and we anticipate that diversions to <br />storage will continue as long as weather conditions allow. Figure 3 shows reservoir storage for Colorado with <br />the South Platte basin estimated to be below normal storage patterns at 93 percent of average. Mid to late <br />sunlmer precipitation did help reduce reservoir demand so storage conditions are slightly better than last year. <br />Snow Pack <br />State wide snow pack for Colorado was last reported for June 2001 and reporting will begin again next month. <br />Figures 4 and 5 show the snowpack for June 2001. The reader can see that the Colorado snowpack was much <br />below average (24%) for June. In the South Platte (Figure 5) the snowpack was 70-80 percent of average until <br />June when it dropped to 22 percent of average. This rapid reduction in snow pack is reflected in the reduced <br />and earlier than normal peakflow (Figures 2). <br />The Surface Water Supply Index (SWSI) is an indicator of mountain-based water supply conditions developed <br />by the Natural Resource Conservation Office and the Colorado State Engineers Office. The SWSI is based on <br />snow pack, reservoir storage, and precipitation for November through April. During the winter, snow pack is <br />given the most emphasis, except on the South Platte where reservoir storage is given the most weight. During <br />the summer actual stream flow conditions begins to replace snow pack. <br />The SWSI for Colorado as of July 2001 is shown in Figure 6. The SWSI for the South Platte basin is 0.6, <br />indicating a near normal surface water supply probably as a result of mid to late summer precipitation. I was not <br />able to obtain a more recent SWSI but given the reduced precipitation in the last month I would anticipate a <br />drop in the SWSI value. <br />III. SUNIlVIARY <br />As of September 2001 we are expecting average to below average conditions in the South Platte basin. Two <br />consecutive years of below average precipitation and lower reservoir conditions suggest that next year will be a <br />below average flow year.