Runoff
March 12, 2010--Upper Colorado River Basin snowpack second lowest since 1992 (Sky Hi Daily News)
As a result of decent storm activity during the third weekend of February, snowpacks in the Upper Colorado River Basin improved slightly from 72 percent of average last month to 79 percent of average on March 1. This is the second lowest March 1 snowpack percentage the basin has seen going all the way back to 1992. Only March 1, 2002, with 68 percent of average snowpacks, was lower.
March 12, 2010--Water shortages may hit northern Rockies (USA Today)
February 23, 2010--Road salt melts snow, but it contaminates groundwater and damages habitats (Washington Post)
We toss more than 20 million tons of sodium chloride on our roadways every winter. That's about 13 times more salt than is used by the entire food processing industry. Salt lowers the freezing temperature of water and thus melts street-clogging snow and ice.
February 19, 2010--Low spring runoff, low flood threat in forecast (Grand Junction Sentinel)
February 4, 2010--Spring runoff expected to be below average (Aspen Daily News)
January 27, 2010--High stakes snow speculation: Gauging our water future (Crested Butte News)
As of January 25, the snow-water equivalent totals for the Gunnison River Basin were at 97 percent of average, according to data from the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). The Gunnison Basin stretches over 8,000 square miles of western Colorado, extending from the Continental Divide to the confluence of the Gunnison and Colorado Rivers near Grand Junction.
January 19, 2010-- Snowpack dangerously close to drought levels (Colorado Independent)
Badly needed snowfall is expected in Colorado’s high country this week, but one expert says the state will need much more than the amount in the forecast to stave off drought on par with the one that marked the parched year of 2002, which saw reservoirs depleted to record-low levels and raging wildfires.
January 13, 2010--January snowpack lowest since 2002 (Sky-Hi Daily News)
On Nov. 1, SNOTEL data indicated basin snowpacks were over 130 percent of average. Unfortunately, a poor showing during November resulted in a drop in snowpack percentages by Dec. 1 to a mere 65 percent of average.
