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<br />Mike Gillespie <br /> <br />After completing the April 1 surveys, the statewide snowpack averages are well below average <br />across the State and extremely below in the southern part of the State at the Rio Grande basin <br />and including much of the Gunnison, the San Juan and Dolores, lower Arkansas, and head waters <br />of the S. Platte. As you can see the general trend is declining percentages each month as <br />snowfall has defmitely been below average thoughout the season. We started out with the best <br />conditions of the year percentagewise back in January where our snowpack at that time was only <br />at 65% of average, and it has declined steadily ever since. This Aprils' snowpack averages are <br />the lowest on record since 1977 when the snowpack average was at 46% of average--the driest <br />on record that we know of. In 1981 it was at 59% of average making this year the second driest <br />on record as of April 1. If we continue without precipitation, we will have the lowest snowpack <br />on record as of May 1, losing about a percent a day. Today's snowpack averages for each basin <br />is as follows: <br /> <br />Arkansas Basin <br />Gunnison Basin <br />Rio Grande Basin <br />S. Platte Basin <br /> <br />20% of average <br />20% of average <br />7& of average <br />37% of average <br /> <br />Colorado Basin <br />N. Platte Basin <br />San Juan .... <br />YampalWhite Basin <br /> <br />35% of average <br />50% of average <br />15% of average <br />43% of average <br /> <br />Statewide snowpack now is only at 27% of average. <br /> <br />Reservoir Storage as of April 1st is at 88% of average and 89% oflast year. Pretty much below <br />average state wide with the exception of the Gunnison Basin where they're at 115% of average <br />and YampalWhite at 101 %. The lowest storage in the Arkansas for quite some time is at only <br />77% of average. In the past 10 years that Basin's reservoir storage has been well above average <br />and may have exceeded 200% of average for most of that time. It's now being depleted and back <br />down to below average again. Statewide, we peaked out with above average storage back in <br />May 2001. We quickly depleted that storage as we went into the summer months and we <br />bottomed out last November. We slowly have improved the storage but we are still remaining at <br />quite a deficit at about 400,000 acre feet below the average right now statewide. <br /> <br />The surface water supply index is a drought-type index that indicates the severity of drought <br />conditions or at least water availability. The southern part of the state is the worst. We have <br />been deteriorating in this index value as we go through the season. The lowest statewide is on <br />April 1st. <br /> <br />Streamflow Forecast are extremely below average runoffs expected across the southern part of <br />the state, less than 50% of averages in that category and many could see less than that for April <br />1 st. It's a little better through the middle part of the state. <br /> <br />Colorado Water Supply Report <br />All basins are very dry as indicated above. S. Platte at Kersey had the lowest recorded flow on <br />record yesterday. It is expected that most the irrigation reservoir supply will be used up by the <br />end of the year, because they will be tapped early in the year because of low runoff. Wells could <br />also go dry. There will be less augmentation water to go around so that will effect well pumping. <br />There will be quite an impact on well users. The Southeastern Colorado Water and Conservancy <br />District has made its allocations and the allocations were significantly less than they have been. <br />It's one the first year they have allocated less water to the user than what was requested. They <br />usually have an excess of water. Some snow passes are already severely melted out and are dry. <br />