Here’s Part 2 of Mike Horn’s series about the effects on runoff timing and duration from dust on snow events, running in The Crested Butte News. From the article:
Competing interests complicate water resource management, to put it lightly. Recreation is but one use among many, including agricultural and municipal uses. And even within the recreation category, different users, say fly fishermen, have different priorities and “ideal flows” compared to commercial boating operations on places like the Taylor River. All these pursuits have economic weight tied to them as well.
Locally, Frank Kugel, general manager for the Upper Gunnison River Water Conservancy District, is tasked with balancing the needs and wants of many stakeholders who place year-round demands on local water resources. And with climate models projecting runoff losses of 7 percent to 20 percent in the Colorado River Basin due to human-induced climate change, dust on snow doesn’t make Kugel’s job any easier. “We’re very supportive of the research, it’s important we understand the impacts of dust on snow,” said Kugel. “We want to be sure any future water-supply models include dust on snow. “For one example, the Colorado River Water Availability study is a major effort in determining how much water will be available in this basin for current and future needs. And future studies will need to take dust on snow into account,” Kugel concluded.