<br />YAMPAlWHITE BASIN
<br />
<br />Basinwide Conditions Assessment
<br />The SWSI value of -0,2 indicates that for May the
<br />basin water supplies were near normal. The Natural
<br />Resources Conservation Service reports that June 1
<br />snowpack is 59% of normal. Flow at the gaging station
<br />Yampa River at Steamboat was estimated at 1,505 cfs, as
<br />compared to the long-term average of 1,600 cfs,
<br />Precipitation for May was approximately 95% of
<br />average for the basin. Year-to-date precipitation for the
<br />water year is about 88% of average, The basin-wide
<br />snowpack for the YampalWhite River drainage was 49% of
<br />average at the end of May, For the Laramie/North Platte
<br />drainage the snow pack at the end of the month was 57 % of
<br />average, The first half of the month was the cool and wet;
<br />this resulted in a steady snowmelt that kept stream flows
<br />near seasonal norms, In the second half of the month,
<br />temperatures rose significantly and snowmelt increased
<br />dramatically, Several gaging stations on the Yampa River
<br />recorded record daily mean flows in the May 20 to 24
<br />timeframe, In the last week of the month cool, wet weather
<br />returned to the basin,
<br />Stream flows increased dramatically in mid-month
<br />due to the rapid snowmelt. The flows remained above
<br />average for the remainder of the month supplemented by the
<br />late month precipitation, Reservoirs are generally full, with
<br />only a few irrigation reservoirs on the Bear River in the upper
<br />Yampa drainage still below capacity,
<br />
<br />Outlook
<br />Cool, wet weather moved into the area in late May
<br />and continued into the early part of June, The cool weather
<br />has slowed the melting of the remaining snowpack, and the
<br />precipitation has kept irrigation demands below normal. Soil
<br />moisture content is high and the irrigation season is looking
<br />very promising.
<br />
<br />Administrative/Manaqement Concerns
<br />Piceance Creek, a tributary to the White River, was
<br />taken off administrative call in May, High flows, which have
<br />not been seen in the last seven years, have allowed all of
<br />the ditches on the drainage to divert as much water as
<br />desired, While this will probably not last for an extended
<br />period of time, this is the first time in many years that some
<br />users have received any water at all in some of their ditches.
<br />
<br />Public Use Impacts
<br />Flows in the rivers and streams are at very high
<br />levels, with swift currents, Extreme caution should be
<br />exercised when recreating on or near the watercourses.
<br />Most high elevation reservoirs are now open,
<br />
<br />Jun-05
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<br />*-2005
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