WSP01021

• File Number: 8441
• Description: Colorado Big Thompson Project
• Basin: South Platte
• Water Division: 1
• Date: 1/1/1987
• Title: Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District Waternews
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Publication

DROUGHT

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The gold rush of 185~ brought scores
of people west who hoped to make their
fortunes in the gold fields. Most failed to
fulfill their expectations,; and many
abandoned their quest. ~ome, however,
saw another way to make ~ living by feeding
. the burgeoning populatioh.
These pioneers who settled along the
Front Range and eastern ~lains in the
1860s found a land deser' ed by explorers
Zebulon Pike and Major ,tephen Long as
a virtual desert. The land\ was fertile and
ready for cultivation, but hecause of
climatic conditions, the Iif~~givingnatural
water supply, which coulcI; be taken for
granted in the humid east, was scarce and
undependable in this new}and.

Major Stephen Long caUed the. plai, "the Great
Ami!'rican Desert" .
Due to the geographic pfoximity 9f
the Rocky Mountains, precipit$tion along
the Front Range and eastern plains
averages only 10-14 inches pet year. The
Rockies bleed most of the mofsture from
weather systems moving east (forn the
Pacific Ocean. Therefore, the ;majority of
water in this area comes from spring runoff
of mountain snowpack.
In a good runoff year ther~ is a
plentiful supply of water in the streambeds
from April to July. The later sljmmer
months always see a reduction In
streamflows. :
Colorado weather, even in; higher
moisture years, does not provide a
consistent, dependable water supply
throughout the year. This probl~m is
aggravated when both rain and 4nowfalI
vary greatly as a result of fickle ~ir mass
movements. Severe droughts are known to
occur and recur, with devastating
economic consequenf:es, not only for
agriculture, but for the entire C~lorado
economy.
Several periods of drought h'~ve
occurred in the last century, whi~h
illustrate this tendency. .

Colorado plains during 1930s

1880s/18900
Following a wet cycle in the 1870s,
which first fueled farmer optimism in
Colorado, the drought of 1889-1890 hit,
causing general crop failures. Wetter years
in 1891-1892 allowed farmers to recoup
some of their losses. However, this
resurgence was short~lived, as 1894
brought a drought which coincided with a
severe national depression.
Many Coloradans were forced to
abandon their farms and leave the area.
Eastern Colorado witnessed a decrease- in'
population by as much as.40 percent. Much
of the land was turned over to grazing.

1930-1931
The next severe period of drought
occurred in the midst of the already
debilitating Great Depression of the
Thirties. The combination of low rainfall,
low spring runoff from mountain
snowpack, and dry swirling winds brought
about the dust storms which swept across
the land, literally blowing away much of
northeastern Coiorado's agricultural
livelihood.
The consecutive drought yeats of
1930-1937 resulted in a total deficit of
540,000 acre~feet of water in the Poudre
Basin alone. Losses to agriculture and the
northeastern Colorado economy were
devastating. For many farmers already
struggling through the Depression, the
drought was the last straw.
Scores abandoned their farms and left
the area. As much as 44 percent of the
total planted or established crop acreage
was abandoned. One~third of all farms in
Larimer County were put up for sale. The
population and the number of farms
decreased by 15 percent in eastern
Colorado.

1953-1956
By 1954 most of the major C-BT
features were completed. The project paid
immediate dividends to northeastern
Colorado, while the area was in the midst
of its most severe drought period on record.
The water supply available for
irrigation in 1954 was the lowest ever
recorded, Soil moisture content was only
15% of normal, andspringrunoffonly40%
of normal. The growing season from April
to September dropped 6.14 inches of
moisture within District boundaries,
compared to a normal 10.72 inches. The
drought years of 1953-1956 produced a
total deficit of 437,500,acre~feet of water
in the Poudre Basin alone-, As many as one
of every three acres of the total.planted or
established crop 'acreage. was abandoned.
Fortunately for northeastern
Colorado, the C~BT Project was able to
provide 300,352 acre feet of supplemental
water to District lands within reach of
Project features in 1954. This critical
supply enabled northeastern Colorado
farmers to produce near~normal crop
yields. Receipts from the sale of farm
products totalled $442 million, as

Many fled the fa"",

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