In the wake of a warm April, Colorado’s snowpack is going through early snowmelt with below-normal snowpack and low runoff, according to the monthly water supply outlook from the Natural Resources Conservation Service.
The NRCS report, based on data as of May 1 and released on Thursday, wasn’t good news for rafting outfitters in the state.
“Thank goodness we received moisture this past week, and that the current reservoir levels are what they are,” said David Costlow, executive director of the Colorado River Outfitters Association. “The industry has seen this many times in the past decades, and we will plan for a full season in most places, as long as it doesn’t get too hot too quickly and the afternoon rains appear in July and August.“
Drought conditions worsened in areas of western Colorado and the eastern plains in April.
“Much of the western slope remains in moderate to severe drought, with the southwestern region continuing to see the most persistent dryness,” the report said. “Colorado received a boost in precipitation during an early May storm which will, at some level, positively impact next month’s supply and forecasts. However, given the deeper deficits and below-normal runoff expected in key headwaters, improvements may be limited without more sustained moisture.”
A month ago outfitters were more optimistic. In last month’s report, the snowpack in the South Platte Basin stood at 98% of normal for the date. As of May 1, it was at 72%. The Colorado River Headwaters basin fell from 96% to 66%, and the Upper Arkansas headwaters fell from 91% to 59%.
“Yes, it is not what we want to hear about the snowpack,” said Bob Hamel, executive director of the Arkansas River Outfitters Association, adding that there was some good news in that western slope water earmarked for import into the Arkansas will be sufficient to insure “adequate flows for recreational boating this summer.”
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