Granted, it started the year around 40%, so this is a big improvement, but still not enough relieve concern of a serious deficit for years to come. Diligence and planning are still essential for future sustainability in the Southwest – we were just given an opportunity to catch our breath for a hot minute.īack to Lake Powell – in the best-case scenario, the reservoir may only fill to about 54% of its capacity after this year’s runoff is all said and done. One wet year doesn’t make up for the array of problems that residents across Colorado, and more urgently across the entirety of the seven state Colorado River Basin, have been dealing with for nearly two decades. Lake Powell has risen over 25 feet since mid-April (potentially gaining up to 50 feet before all is said and done,) and there is still much snow in the upper elevations (above about 11,000ft.)Īnd, for the first time in nearly 20 years, there are no declared drought declarations anywhere in Colorado. Snow Water Equivalent maps, like this one from the NRCS, are reporting totals in the hundreds, or thousands, or even tens of thousands of percent above normal for every day that goes by. The Animas and the Rio Grande, for instance, have temporarily halted rafting and fishing operations from providing guide services on certain stretches until the peak flows have passed. The ski season at a number of resorts across the state is still in full swing, yet the kickoff to the rafting season has actually been a bit halting – since in some rivers there is just too much water to be safe.

Winter we all just experienced was, in some ways, downright epic.

Colorado snowpack map