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COLORADO <br /> WATER SUPPLY CONDITIONS UPDATE <br /> ROM THE OFFICE OF THE STATE ENGINEER; COLORADO DIVISION OF WATER RESOURCES January 1997 <br /> OOM 818,1313 SHERMAN ST.,DENVER,CO 80203; (303)-866-3581 <br /> Colorado has received generous amounts of snow so far this winter. The Natural Resources Conservation Service <br /> reports that the statewide snowpack averaged 160%of normal as of January 1. All seven major river basins in the state show <br /> above average snowpack, resulting in positive SWSI numbers in all seven basins. If the snowpack during the remaining <br /> portion of the winter is able to maintain an above average value, 199Ts water supply outlook for the southern mountains <br /> should be much better than last year's supply. Last year Colorado's southern mountains received well below normal <br /> snowpack which caused reduced spring runoff and summer stream flows, adversely impacting irrigators in that area. <br /> Lower elevation reservoirs in the South Platte and Arkansas basins,and the reservoirs in the San Juan/Dolores basin <br /> which were depleted last summer,continue to be filled during the winter months. In contrast,the higher elevation reservoirs <br /> in the Colorado basin are being lowered to prepare for containing next spring's runoff. <br /> The Surface Water Supply Index (SWSI) developed by this office and the U.S.D.A.Natural Resources Conservation <br /> Service is used as an indicator of mountain based water supply conditions in the major river basins of the state. It is based <br /> on snow pack,reservoir storage,and precipitation for the winter period(November through April). During the winter period <br /> snow pack is the primary component in all basins except the South Platte basin where reservoir storage is given the most <br /> weight. The following SWSI values were computed for each of the seven major basins for January 1, 1997 and reflect <br /> conditions during the month of December. <br /> Jan. 1, 1997 Change From Change From <br /> Basin SWSI Value Previous Month Previous Year <br /> South Platte 2.6 +1.1 -0.3 <br /> Arkansas 2.9 +1.3 +3.4 <br /> Rio Grande 2.0 -1.1 +5.5 <br /> Gunnison 3.7 +0.8 +6.0 <br /> Colorado 3.3 +0.7 +1.3 <br /> Yarnpa/White 3.1 -0.3 +3.8 <br /> San Juan/Dolores 2.3 -0.9 +5.0 <br /> SCALE <br /> -4 -3 -2 -1 0 +1 +2 +3 +4 <br /> Severe Moderate Near Normal Above Normal Abundant <br /> Drought Drought Supply Supply Supply <br /> 1 <br />