The Colorado River is one of the West's most vital resources. "Between 50 and 80 percent of an annual year's precipitation actually accumulates as snowpack and then melts off in the spring and becomes our water supply," Domonkos said. We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. Recreational visitors disagree, and water managers have shown reluctance to break so sharply from the status quo. We are 77% through the Water Year. Throughout the country the agency brings water to more than 31 million people and provides one out of five Western farmers (140,000) with irrigation water for 10 million acres of farmland that produce 60% of the nation's vegetables and 25% of its fruits and nuts. The 2021 drawdown would take water levels at the reservoir to their lowest point since it was first filled in the mid-1960s. It didnt all come down at once.. Lake Mead is very large and could hold about 35 cubic kilometers of water at full (but not flood) capacity. Lake Meads elevation will fall by about 12 feet to 1,034 by the end of September. As Colorado River reservoirs shrink, feds ask for work-arounds for 2022 He has focused on environmental and climate issues, winning recognition for outstanding investigative reporting, and global news, with on-site work in 40 countries. Water from the Colorado River Basin is diverted under the Continental Divide through the Moffat Tunnel into South Boulder Creek, then stored in Gross Reservoir, and then delivered via South Boulder Creek to other Denver Water infrastructure. |Notice of Nondiscrimination|Privacy Policy, Cross-Connection Control and Backflow Prevention Program, Tax Exemption Certificates, W-9 and ACH Payment Authorization, Pipe Replacement and Lead Reduction Program Work Areas, Waterton Canyon/Strontia Springs Reservoir. As the summer begins, anyone driving along Blue Mesa will see an increase in paddle boarders and boaters, fishermen and those out for a picnic. Author: Alexander Kirk Published: 8:26 AM MDT May 16, 2023 Updated: 8:26 AM MDT May 16, 2023 AURORA, Colo. Cherry Creek Reservoir is ten feet higher after six inches of rainfall over a. Its something weve been waiting for for a long time. But Reclamation has said that if the first months of 2023 are particularly dry, Lake Powell levels could drop below 3,490 feet, the minimum level at which the dam can produce electricity. Follow the journey of water from snowflake to tap. Thats driven largely by the amount of uses in the Lower Basin as of March 1, Cullom said Friday during a Southwestern Water Conservation District event. "And even still, the question still remains, 'will it help us get out of the drought?'". Farmers weigh tough choices as uncertain water future looms. In one corner, at the foot of a giant sand mound, a thin waterfall trickled from above. Our editorial policy and donor list can be viewed atwateredco.org. In the most-probable scenario, Lake Powell will likely see about 10 million acre-feet of water flow into the reservoir by the end of September, and the dam will likely release about 7.8 million acre-feet downstream, according to the March report. Drop us a note at tips@coloradosun.com. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! This year water managers are predicting the level of the Blue Mesa reservoir will come to within a few feet of the reservoirs maximum capacity something that has come with a sense of pride for many in the region. Lizards bask in patches of sun. i The U.S. Drought Monitor (USDM) is updated each Thursday to show the location and intensity of drought across the country. Thank you. The past few springs delivered relatively low runoff, leading to summers fraught with mandatory water cutbacks and emergency releases from smaller reservoirs efforts primarily focused on keeping water in Lake Powell. "It's going to have to become more the norm to have these above normal snowpack and precipitation years for several years going forward to overcome a drought," he said. Note: We will make every effort to upload data from the previous Friday, Saturday and Sunday on the following Monday. Colorado has had a good water year, but experts say it wont lessen long-term drought conditions, News That Matters, Delivered To Your Inbox, Cloud seeding is on the rise in the drought-stricken Rockies. The history of reservoirs and dams in the USA is closely tied to the country's development and growth. Among them, Oroville Dam stands out as the tallest dam in the United States, located in northern California. River levels are high . Those side canyons will likely flood anew, as snow from an epic winter and spring in the Rocky Mountains melts and flows into the reservoir. Construction recently began to increase the height of the dam from 340 feet to 471 feet. This precipitation has helped major reservoirs return to at least historical average levels. Who would cut back? And if water levels keep falling in Lake Powell, the other main reservoir, straddling Utah and Arizona, officials said, the Western Area Power Administration will have to buy electricity from other sources at a greater cost to sustain 5.8 million customers across 15 states, including Colorado. Legal Counsel for the Colorado Water Project at Trout Unlimited, Mely Whiting, said that her organization didnt oppose these two storage projects because they were a preferred alternative to building theTwo Forks Dam, a vetoed project that would have inundated some of the headwaters of the South Platte under 1 million acre-feet of water. El Nio is back thats good news or bad news, An Arizona water story where ranchers, environmentalists and developers are collaborating. Colorado River reservoirs face grim year despite healthy snowpack This year, many Colorado reservoirs will have the chance to refill, but the situation is still grim for the two largest reservoirs in the system, Lake Mead and Lake Powell. Northern Water plans to begin storing water in Chimney Hollow Reservoir upon completion in 2025 and hopes to fill it within three years by storing approximately 30,000 acre-feet of water each year out of theWindy Gap Projects average of 48,000 acre-feet of water per year. Local conditions may vary. Its amazing to me to imagine that this was all underwater, and it will be underwater again soon.. After spending decades under mostly still water, these canyons are laden with heaps of sediment that settled onto the lakes floor. Olivia Emmer is a freelance journalist based in Carbondale, Colorado. Colorado River Basin sees 'spectacular' snowpack, buying time for big During my 2003 visit, dwindling water levels had already moved Lake Powell's boundary several miles from Hite, allowing parts of the Colorado River once buried underwater to flow freely as they . The Drought Monitor focuses on broad-scale conditions. Full Pool: 7,519.00 feet. 2023 Colorado Public Radio. both well below historical norms and lowest levels on record. In 2021 Denver Water diverted about 140,000 acre-feet of Colorado River water, approximately half their supply. Water Supply & Planning Supply Data & Reports Reservoir Operations Date Use the date picker to choose a date and view historical reservoir data. Lake Mead and Lake Powell have fallen to critical levels in recent years, prompting emergency releases from upstream reservoirs. If you go south, it trends slightly drier. In some circles, Glen Canyon is a major thread in conversations about water management. resizeframe(); Have questions about lead? As winter storms wind down, water managers and policymakers are mulling over decisions about how to release and retain water in shrunken reservoirs across the basin, which supports 40 million people across the West. Use of this website is subject to its Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy | Do Not Sell My Info/Cookie Policy. I changed the code so that itll read back a few days if the latest data is blank so the data might be up to a couple days old, but still more accurate than zero. WEco is funded by multiple donors. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Subscribe to receive email notifications of new content. Both reservoirs reached historically low levels last summer, holding the least amount of water since they . Filmmaker Ben Masters, a member of the expedition, wriggled around until he was waist deep and needed a hand to get unstuck. }, 150); McPhee Reservoir, Dolores River, Telluride, SW Colorado . Colorado River Reservoir Levels - Engaging Data Listed alphabetically (below) Bonny Carter Lake Flatiron Granby Green Mountain Horsetooth Lake Estes (Olympus Dam) Marys Lake Pinewood Ruedi Pueblo Shadow Mountain Turquoise Lake Twin Lakes Willow Creek. Reservoir Operations | Denver Water In the Upper Basin, were taking this opportunity to repay the loans from Flaming Gorge and Blue Mesa. Indicates that a Newsmaker/Newsmakers was/were physically present to report the article from some/all of the location(s) it concerns. The groups boat a rented pontoon boat with plenty of space for the camera gear, camping setups and loaded coolers weve piled towards the back wasnt particularly agile. Bottom of the ninth, end of a baseball game, nature is at bat and basically has the final say on what happens, he said. Colorado River deal: Southwest states reach landmark deal to stave off Learn more at, Photos and videos: Arkansas River, Colorado, March 2021, Photos and videos: Twin Lakes, Colorado, March 2021, Photos and videos: Rio Grande near San Antonio, New Mexico, August 2022, Photos and videos: Rio Grande near Fort Craig, New Mexico, August 2022, Data viz: Elephant Butte Reservoir levels, Windy Gap Projects average of 48,000 acre-feet of water per year, to increase the volume, depth and power of journalism, https://www.watereducationcolorado.org/fresh-water-news/, www.watereducationcolorado.org/fresh-water-news/. They are coming in under the wire of a change in how we have to see the Colorado River its not something we can keep tapping, said Jeff Lukas, an independent water and climate researcher and consultant, who spent a decade working for the Western Water Assessment at the University of Colorado. On top of the voluntary reductions, Arizona . Thats not squandering this opportunity, he said Friday. Your email address will not be published. Today, the water level has returned under the bridge and has already reached upstream of the Gunnison River. Interior Department Announces Actions to Protect Colorado River System Visualization was done in javascript and specifically the D3.js visualization library. These two projects, [Chimney Hollow] and the Gross Reservoir Expansion, might be the last of their kind. But wed like to see very wise use of that water.. Colorado warns Suncor it could face fines, other action after repeated benzene leaks into Sand Creek, Colorado tribes fear the effects of U.S. Supreme Court ruling against Navajo Nation in water rights case, Proudly powered by Newspack by Automattic. Lake Dillon Water Level including historical chart. Below 895 feet in elevation, water cant pass through Hoover Dam to downstream users, and below 950 feet, the dam cant produce hydroelectricity. Python is used to extract the data and wrangle the data in to a clean format, using the Pandas data analysis library. Current Statewide Conditions for Colorado. Chimney Hollow will be an off-channel reservoir with 90,000 acre-feet of capacity and will sit just west of Carter Lake in Larimer County. OPERATION PLAN FOR COLORADO . This is a marimekko (or mekko) graph which may take some time to understand if you arent used to seeing them. As with the California version of this graph, there are also lines that represent historical levels, including historical median level for the day of the year (in red) and the 1 year ago level, which is shown as a dark blue line. Consistent with Section 2.D.1 of the Interim Guidelines, a Shortage Condition consistent with Section 2.D.1.b . CO CHANGE represents water elevation change from previous day . In the U.S., Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming comprise the Upper Basin, while Arizona, California and Nevada comprise the Lower Basin. But for a brief moment in the late winter and early spring, the reservoir was creeping lower by the day. From a quick glance, it looks to have all the data I would need. The June 2023 forecast from the Colorado Basin River Forecast Center shows a projected inflow of 13.85 million acre-feet into Lake Powell for 2023, which is 144% of the average inflow. All of their water goes to municipal and industrial uses. The system helps water managers control when and how water moves through the diversions, ditches, streams and rivers in the basin, and acts as a savings bank for dry years. If Denver and Colorado want to use more water, thats going to put the overall system at risk, Hasencamp said, and referred to the as-yet unused call that downriver states could declare to demand more water and force mandatory cuts. But the states plans to secure more water from rivers here are colliding with the hotter, drier climate thats hammering the Southwest, where Colorado River reservoirs are at record-low levels. Another member of the expedition, Len Necefer, was in this same spot last year. As of Sunday, the basins entire reservoir storage system held about 19 million acre-feet, or about 32% of its capacity, according to the Bureau of Reclamation. Its not possible to see or really interact with the tiniest slivers. Keeping in mind that the pictures would be used for future coverage of the reservoir, I documented the time of day, camera settings and focal length to use as a base for future pictures.
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