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RIO GRANDE BASIN <br /> I <br /> Basinwide Conditions Assessment: <br /> The SWSI value of 3.4 indicates that for April the RIO GRANDE BASIN <br /> basin water supplies were much above normal. The Natural 5 Surface water Supply Index History <br /> Resources Conservation Service reports May 1 snowpack as ,- <br /> 167% of normal. Storage in Platoro, Rio Grande, and Santa W 3_ _ i <br /> Maria reservoirs totaled 111%of normal on April 30. Flow at • " .; .__ <br /> the gaging station Rio Grande near Del Norte averaged 518 2L. - -. F <br /> cfs, as compared to the 1961-1993 April average of 665 cfs. ; , '''''110::::, : ; i <br /> The Conejos River near Mogote had a mean flow of 418 cfs. _6, o —11 ,_ d—�' <br /> Most upper basin streams except the Conejos River had below : 7 1 <br /> _ i 1 H '��`It <br /> average stream flow during April. The National Weather 'r. <br /> a -2- c.. <br /> Service computes basin precipitation as 117% of normal <br /> during the month. -3- <br /> Weather conditions in the San Luis Valley were ..., - „ _ _, <br /> JAN86 JAN87 JAN88 JAN89 JAN90 JAN91 JAN92 JAN93 JAN84 JAN95 <br /> slightly cooler than average during April. The average ',EAR/6 . <br /> monthly temperature of 38.9° in Alamosa was 2.2° below <br /> normal which marks the first month since last November that <br /> Alamosa has had a monthly average below normal. <br /> Temperatures ranged from a high of 68° to a low of 15°. <br /> Alamosa received 0.87 inches of precipitation which was 0.38 RIO GRANDE NR. DELNORTE <br /> inches above normal. FLOW BY WATER YEAR <br /> zs0 <br /> 240 <br /> Outlook 220 <br /> Snowpack levels increased at most monitoring sites .. 200 <br /> 3 180 <br /> during April and the basinwide percent of average rose <br /> i^ 160 <br /> dramatically. Well above average stream flow is expected for of 140 <br /> the entire basin,with the southern Sangre de Cristo drainages :1 ,ZD <br /> '.' ''1:::: <br /> and Conejos River tributaries the most likely to reach flood v s 100 <br /> jz <br /> stage. U BD <br /> 60 <br /> Administrative/Management Concerns AO <br /> Due to the expected heavy runoff, releases from 20 <br /> Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb March Apr II <br /> Platoro Reservoir began April 10th to provide additional flood AONT" <br /> storage capacity. The Conejos was, therefore, the only ° WET C'9e7j 9 03Y(1977) A AVG x 1995 <br /> significant stream in the basin with above average flow for the <br /> month. This concerns water managers as the cool <br /> temperatures prevented the excess snowpack from melting <br /> gradually. A warm, dry spell might trigger a glut of snow REPRESENTATIVE RESERVOIRS <br /> melt in the coming weeks and pose a threat of flooding. 30 AID CAMDE BASIN <br /> 26 <br /> 26- <br /> Public Use Impacts 24_ <br /> What a difference a couple of months can make. ; 22- <br /> Cool, wet conditions replaced the warm and dry weather of ,a f <br /> v <br /> the first three months of 1995. Soil moisture levels are up ;g 16 <br /> making planting very difficult for many farmers. A serious a g 14 7\ <br /> concern now exists for very high flows to occur during runoff <br /> N`� 12 ru <br /> 1 <br /> Public safety will be a major concern as swift currents, soft m 8 <br /> embankments, and rivers running at or above capacity pose <br /> great hazards. This spring could be wet and wild for water z <br /> administrators, users, and recretionalists. D /^\ / n <br /> Ric Grande Plater° SantaNbrla <br /> ® Avq. 4/30 Contents I`N 4/30/95 Contents <br /> 5 <br />