From email from the Eagle River Water and Sanitation District (Diane Johnson):

Drought conditions and water supply are the topics for tonight’s “Community Focus” show on local radio station KZYR, 97.7 FM the Zephyr.

Eagle River Water and Sanitation District General Manager Linn Brooks and board Chairman Rick Sackbauer will join Community Focus host Rohn Robbins to discuss current drought conditions and what the community can do to mitigate local impacts.

The Zephyr’s Community Focus is an hour-long talk program that airs at 7 p.m. on Wednesdays.

Brooks and Sackbauer will discuss potential drought impacts, how the public water system has prepared for drought conditions, collaborative efforts to mitigate impacts, and actions community members can take.

The district’s water use priorities are public health and safety (normal indoor water use and maintaining storage for fire protection); local economic benefits associated with streamflows, recreation, and tourism; and long-term system reliability.

Drought intensity in Eagle County is “extreme” according to the U.S. Drought Monitor and all of Colorado is experiencing some level of drought condition. Drought conditions reflect this winter’s record low snowpack, including the driest March on record in Colorado, the warmest March through May on record, and windy conditions. Current streamflows are correspondingly low; Eagle County waterways are flowing at about 20 to 30 percent of historical averages.

Community Focus is also aired live on Eagle County’s ecotv18, channel 18 on local cable systems, and streamed live at http://www.ecotv18.com and will be archived on KZYR’s website at http://www.kzyr.com.

For more information, contact Communications and Public Affairs Manager Diane Johnson at 970-477-5457.

Click here to download a copy of the summaries from yesterday’s webinar. Click on the thumbnail graphic to the right for the precipitation summary.

From the Fort Collins Coloradoan (Bobby Magill):

“The continued hot, dry conditions are wreaking havoc on agriculture on the Eastern Plains,” said Wendy Ryan, a researcher with the Colorado Climate Center at Colorado State University. “Many people have very poor range conditions out there. We’ve gotten reports of people that are getting water who will irrigate for 30 hours and it makes it 300 feet down the field.”[…]

Currently, most of Larimer County is considered to be under both severe and extreme drought conditions, depending on the area. Extreme drought conditions are spreading throughout northwestern Colorado, where the mountain snow has completely melted off the slopes and very little precipitation has fallen in recent months…

The Poudre River’s flow through Fort Collins is in the third percentile at a time when it should be near its peak spring runoff flow. “It means 97 percent of other years were (seeing) a higher flow than right now,” Ryan said.

On Tuesday, the Poudre was running through the Fort Collins gauging station at 79 cubic feet per second, or cfs. The average flow for June 19 is 979 cfs, and a year ago the river was running through the city around 2,500 cfs, according to U.S. Geological Survey data.

From The Pueblo Chieftain (Chris Woodka):

Low water levels are creating odor problems for residents near Lake Minnequa. The good news is that the city of Pueblo, Pueblo Board of Water Works and Evraz Rocky Mountain Steel are working on a long-term solution. The bad news is that the water level of the lake continues to fall during the drought. Residents, particularly on the west side of the lake, have been complaining about the odor for several weeks. “As more shoreline is exposed, the smell probably comes from vegetation rotting,” said Scott Hobson, assistant city manager for community investment. “I don’t know of a quick fix for the odor issue.”

Low levels are affecting other water supplies around the lake. “People who live nearby say the water levels in wells are the lowest they’ve seen in more than 30 years,” Hobson said. The only source of water for the lake at the current time is stormwater, and even a fairly intense storm like the one last week doesn’t do much to fill the lake. Last year, there were two large fish die-offs at the lake that created a brief, intense smell.

From KJCT.com via the Aurora Sentinel:

Ranchers in western Colorado are selling off cattle to avoid losing them to a severe drought. Livestock auctioneer Bill Martin of Loma says his auction barn usually sees between 200 and 400 cows a week, but this year the numbers have sometimes nearly quadrupled.

Click on the thumbnail graphic for the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network map for Pueblo County as of this morning. Here’s a report from The Pueblo Chieftain. From the article:

Parts of Pueblo received between .40 and .60 inches of rain during the 4:50 p.m. storm. The Sunset Park area, however, recorded .96 inches of rain. Some areas didn’t get as much rain, however, like the National Weather Service headquarters by Pueblo Memorial Airport, which received only .06 inches…

Severe weather tore through Springfield for a brief period Saturday evening. Two confirmed tornadoes touched down around 7:10 p.m. according to the National Weather Service. One of the tornadoes was located north of Springfield and the other was north of the town of Pritchett. “The twisters were fairly weak and very short-lived,” said Harold Self, Baca County emergency management director.

From The Denver Post (Electa Draper):

“It’s been difficult to predict the behavior of the High Park Fire,” [Sher Schranz, research coordinator with Colorado State University’s Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere] said. “It jumped over the (Poudre) river and the road. That was unexpected early on. This fire has sometimes baffled incident managers.”

The behavior of winds in the complex terrain and conditions of the High Park fire has also at times stumped researchers by not conforming to their models, Schranz said. Numerical weather prediction models — forecasting wind speed, direction, temperature, humidity and visibility for fire managers — have greatly improved in the last 10 years, she said, but they still aren’t good enough. “We need greater resolution in real time,” she, referring to the institute and other collaborators at the NOAA Earth System Research Lab in Boulder. “We need more detailed observations of the atmosphere from the ground up to several thousand feet.”

Fires are fought on the ground a few feet at a time, she said, so knowing what’s generally expected over a few square miles isn’t adequate.

A while back in a post about Ed Quillen’s passing I wrote, “If there is a heaven I believe that Ed is probably rattling around in the mountains there driving an old Volkswagen bus just as he and Martha did in Colorado early in their marriage.”

It turns out I’m wrong about Ed’s choice of vehicles. He was a pickup truck man. Here’s a tribute to Ed from Hayseed, promoted from the Coyote Gulch comments:

FWIW, Ed never liked that old VW beetle — it was cold and slow. Its virtues were that it was cheap to operate and easy to repair. And, for a two-wheel-drive vehicle, it was good in the snow.

But Ed was always a pick-up guy, given his druthers. When his Blazer died a few years ago he looked for a Toyota Tacoma pick-up, but found they were too expensive, so settled for a Ford Ranger with a small crew cab and a canopy. He said it was the nicest vehicle he ever owned.

I first met Ed at UNC (CSC at the time) in Greeley, where he was a 17-year-old freshman and the first (perhaps still the only) National Merit Scholar to attend what he called “Podunk on the Poudre.” We raised journalistic hell together on campus publications in those days of ’60s campus ferment, and stayed in touch ever since, via correspondence (significantly enabled by the Internet) and irregular visits, in spite of the 1200 miles between us.

His family has lost it’s patriarch, his readers have lost a unique journalist, historian and philosopher, and I have lost a dear friend. We all, in our own way, were enriched by his presence and are poorer for his passing.

Here’s a guest column written sheep man Doug Ramsey that’s running in The Durango Herald. He describes the operational decisions he is facing in a water-short year. Here’s and excerpt:

Our irrigation water was turned off May 22 as the La Plata River continued to shrink to a trickle, and I am forced to cut the hay now as it begins to show signs of stress because of lack of moisture. Our irrigation water comes from the tiny La Plata River that is currently running at about 30 cubic feet per minute – about one-fourth of what it would normally be flowing at this time or year…

The hard choices will be whether to try and raise the lambs by feeding hay until I can provide them to my customers, or sell them at the sale barn for a loss and save my hay and pasture for the ewes. In 2002 when we produced no hay, we ended up feeding purchased hay for most of 18 months to get our sheep through all of 2002 until the spring of 2003. As I look around Southwest Colorado, I see this drought having some major effects on agriculture. The rangeland already needs moisture, and any hope that we have a good monsoon season will not be realized for at least another month or longer.

Meanwhile, Governor Hickenlooper has issued an executive order banning fireworks in Colorado. Here’s the release:

Gov. John Hickenlooper today signed an Executive Order that bans open burning and private use of fireworks throughout Colorado because of very dry conditions and high fire danger.

The ban does not apply to campfires in constructed, permanent fire pits or fire grates within developed camp and picnic grounds or recreation sites; liquid-fueled or gas-fueled stoves; fireplaces contained within buildings; charcoal grills at private residences; or specific prescribed or controlled burns for agricultural or irrigation purposes.

Commercial, professional and municipal fireworks displays are allowed when written approval has been granted by the sheriff of the county in which the fireworks display is to occur.

“We can’t completely eliminate the threat of wildfire because there’s no way to control Mother Nature,” Hickenlooper said. “But we can take steps to reduce the risks of more wildfires starting. This ban is a necessary step to help protect people, property and the beautiful state we live in.”

Most Colorado counties have already adopted fire bans. At least 44 of the state’s 64 counties are now listed with “high,” “very high” or “extreme” wildfire danger. The wildfire danger and individual restrictions for every Colorado county can be found at http://www.colorado.gov.

The governor’s Executive Order is not intended to supersede more comprehensive or inclusive open burning restrictions that have been or may be established by Colorado counties, municipalities and/or other political subdivisions of the state. Where permitted by law, counties and other local governments may ban any or all of the open burning exemptions listed in the order when local officials determine that a more restrictive ban is appropriate and warranted given fire danger conditions in their localities.

The Executive Order will stay in effect until it is amended or rescinded. The full text of the order can be found here.

From the Cortez Journal (Paige Blankenbuehler):

County commissioners voted unanimously on Monday for a recommendation from Cortez Fire Protection District chief Jeff Vandevoorde to institute a fire ban for Montezuma County.

The commissioners put the following limitations into effect:

No open burns will be permitted within Montezuma County, including designated fire pits at legal campgrounds, Montezuma County deputy emergency manager Paul Hollar said. Covered barbecue and charcoal grills or pits are permitted.

Outdoor fireplaces with screens or covers are also permitted, Hollar said.

Fireworks are explicitly banned, but the formal Cortez July 4 firework show is still scheduled under a controlled environment at this time, Hollar said.

From the Vail Daily:

Due to the combination of unusually high temperatures, dry conditions and light winter snowpack there is an increased risk for wildfires throughout Colorado. According to the National Weather Service, the drought in the state of Colorado is going to persist and intensify as the summer moves forward. As a result, Eagle County has implemented “Stage I” fire restrictions that will take effect at 12:01 a.m., Friday. The ban prohibits all open burning for private lands in unincorporated Eagle County and within the town of Red Cliff.

From the Valley Courier (Ruth Heide):

“Our snowpack is gone,” [Water Division III Engineer Craig Cotten] told members of the Valley-wide water group, the Rio Grande Roundtable, on Tuesday afternoon. “We didn’t get anywhere close to average.” The run-off was a month earlier, he said, “and then it headed down. We were out of snow about a month earlier than usual.”

Cotten shared the latest Natural Resources Conservation Services (NRCS) forecasts for the Rio Grande and Conejos Rivers, which are up a bit from last month’s forecasts but still anticipating a below-average year on both river systems. The new NRCS annual forecast for June for the Rio Grande is 415,000 acre feet, which is 64 percent of the long-term average. Last month the NRCS forecast was 380,000 acre feet. Of that amount, 102,200 acre feet must be sent downstream to meet Rio Grande Compact obligations. Cotten said that means deliveries of 5 percent right now, but his office is only curtailing the ditches 2 percent because the other 3 percent is coming through in the way of return flows.

No ditches on the Conejos River system are currently being curtailed, Cotten said, because “we can meet our obligation under the compact for the Conejos system just with what we have already delivered and what we will deliver during the wintertime.” The new NRCS forecast for the Conejos River system, which includes the Conejos, San Antonio and Los Pinos Rivers, is 200,000 acre feet, up a bit from last month’s forecasted 180,000 acre feet. That is still only 60 percent of the long-term average for that river system, Cotten explained. Of that amount, 45,000 acre feet must be delivered downstream for compact purposes, but that should be no problem, given what has been delivered already and what will be sent downstream later this year, Cotten said.

Here is the link to the webinar summaries from the Colorado Climate Center. Click on the thumbnail graphic for the precipitation summary.

Here’s the link to the June 1, 2012 Basin Outlook Report from the Natural Resources Conservation Service (Mage Skordahl). Here are the summaries (It ain’t pretty):

Summary

The 2012 water year is definitely one that will be remembered for quite some time. Coming on the heels of one of the wettest and snowiest years in recent memory it began with great expectations and with well above average precipitation in October and significant early season snow storms across the state. Unfortunately hopes were thwarted by a very dry December which left our first snow surveys of the year measuring a below average snowpack. From that point, with the exception of some decent snow accumulation in February, the weather managed to conjure up some painful memories of the 2002 drought. In the end this season saw the lowest statewide snowpack accumulation since 2002 and in some basins, this year became the new minimum on record. This spring the entire state has experienced persistent warm and dry weather patterns contributing to dry soils and the early melt of an already anemic snowpack. The only part of the equation separating this year from conditions in 2002 is reservoir storage. Across the state storage volumes remain very close to average thanks to the abundant snowfall and runoff from the 2011 winter.

Snowpack

May ended up being another dry and warm month across Colorado. The continuation of this abnormally warm weather caused the snowpack to continue to melt out at a nearly uninterrupted pace. By June 1, the snowpack was nearly nonexistent in all of Colorado’s major basins with only 4 out of the 92 SNOTEL sites used in this report, measuring any snow. The statewide snowpack as of June 1 was a negligible 2 percent of average, and 1 percent of last year’s report on this date. Basin by basin only the Colorado, South Platte, Arkansas and combined Yampa, White and North Platte basins had any snow remaining and only at the higher elevations in the basins. Most SNOTEL sites were completely melted out about a month earlier than normal. The warm weather this spring in combination with dry winds and dry soils really decimated what little snowpack we had received. These conditions also result in a fair amount of sublimation which will likely have an impact on streamflow volumes.

Precipitation

Precipitation at Colorado’s SNOTEL sites was well below average this May. Six out of the last seven months have recorded below average precipitation across the state. Statewide totals for May were just 42 percent of average which dropped the water year to date precipitation to 71 percent of average and 59 percent of last year’s totals. The combined San Miguel, Dolores, Animas and San Juan basin received precipitation that was only 14 percent of average for the month and the Gunnison basin was also very dry at just 23 percent of average. The South Platte basin fared somewhat better with monthly totals at 62 percent of average. Water year totals range from a high of 85 percent of average in the Upper Rio Grande basin to 66 percent of average in the Colorado basin.

Reservoir Storage

Reservoir storage in the state is slightly below average. In an average year the state’s reservoirs store 3786 kilo acre feet (KAF) of water at this time of year. This year storage levels are at 3716 KAF, which equates to 98 percent of average. Since May 1 storage volumes statewide have declined by 24 KAF. Typically storage volumes increase during May but water managers filled their reservoirs early due to low streamflow predictions and demand has likely increased with above normal temperatures. As of June 1 the Arkansas and Upper Rio Grande reported the lowest storage volumes in the state at 78 and 57 percent of average respectively. All other major basins in the state are reporting near or above average storage. The Gunnison River basin’s reservoirs are storing 823 KAF which is 103 percent of average. The Upper Colorado basin is storing 905 KAF which is 113 percent of average. The South Platte basin is storing 930 KAF which is 95 percent of average. The combine San Miguel, Animas, Dolores and San Juan basins are storing 526 KAF which is 106 percent of average. And the Yampa basin is storing 34 KAF in Stagecoach reservoir which is 113 percent of average; Yamcolo reservoir was not included in this report due to a broken gauge.

Streamflow

Another dry month in May brought additional decreases to the streamflow forecasts across western Colorado. As a general rule, forecasts for the western basins range from about 25 to 50 percent of average. In the Upper Rio Grande, Arkansas, and South Platte basins seasonal predictions improved by a couple of percentage points for most forecasts due to higher than expected observed flows so far this spring. These basins can expect volumes of 20 to 60 percent of average. The lowest forecasts, as a percent of average, are in the headwaters of the Gunnison River, where the forecasted flow for the Tomichi Creek tributary is just 7 percent of average. The state’s best outlook, while still quite dismal, is for the Upper Rio Grande basin as a whole. Streams in this basin are expected to run at 40 to 60 percent of average from April to September. In summary, across the state, early snowmelt has translated to earlier than normal peak flows, which will likely be followed by an earlier than normal return to base flows in mid-summer.

From 9News.com (Robert Garrison):

This year’s light snow pack has prompted north metro water suppliers to ask residents to conserve. Cities from Arvada to Broomfield and Thornton, as well as South Adams County, are suggesting homeowners to water their lawns no more than two times a week. If there is extreme heat, they suggest watering your lawn three times a week–and if it rains even less. Do not water between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. And know your water use so you can track it.

From The Denver Post (Kirk Mitchell):

“It’s very conducive to large wildfires spreading,” Skordahl said. “You are talking about drought conditions across the state. The soil is dry. The vegetation is dry. Precipitation is below normal and its windy.”
According to the June 1 Colorado Basin Outlook report released today, the snowpack in Colorado is 2 percent of average for the date, and 1 percent of the snowpack measured on June 1, 2011. Because of abnormally high snowpacks last year, reservoirs are not yet in trouble, still measuring at about 98 percent of average, she said. Still, water managers across the state are concerned that water demand from farms and municipalities will quickly drop reservoir levels across the state, she said.

Only four of 92 snowpack measuring spots across Colorado had any measurable amounts of snow at all and then only in the higher elevations, according to the June snowpack report. But Skordahl said its been so hot and dry the last several months that she was surprised there was measurable snow at any of the locations…

“A wet summer could turn things around,” she said.

The Weld County Commissioners — after declaring a drought emergency on Monday — are asking for a powwow with Governor Hickenlooper over pumping groundwater along the South Platte River alluvial aquifer. Here’s a report from Jack Minor writing for the Greeley Gazette. From the article:

On June 11, 2012, the Commissioners unanimously passed a resolution declaring a disaster emergency for Weld County and asked Governor Hickenlooper to order the pumping of some of the 8,400 restricted irrigation wells for 30 days to provide relief from emergency conditions. “This is a situation that requires immediate attention,” said Commissioner Chairman Sean Conway. “If water isn’t made available to the farmers in Weld County within the next couple of weeks, crops will fail and the economic impact will be felt throughout the state.”[…]

In the request for a meeting, the letter notes that the action is necessary to avoid the current disaster from getting worse to the county, which is the state’s largest agricultural county, producing over $1.4 billion to the state economy. As the Gazette previously reported, area farmers have testified on multiple occasions that the situation is desperate…

“We are like the tsunami warning system. You may not hear it coming, but we farmers are sounding the warning to you,” he said. “The good news is this disaster, which is both natural and man-made with the turning off of the wells can be avoided and it won’t cost the taxpayers one dime. All we have to do is flip a switch.”

The next CWCB Water Availability Task Force meeting is next Wednesday. I plan to live-tweet the meeting.

From the Associated Press via the The Denver Post:

The town of Frisco is asking residents to voluntarily conserve water.
The town is preparing for possible drought conditions following a dry winter and spring with below-average snowpack. Town officials said Monday they are asking people to voluntarily limit how much they water their lawns and plants.

Here’s the first of the the Summit Daily News’ Drought Watch series, written by Troy Wineland, Water Commissioner for Division 5, District 36 [Blue River]. Here’s an excerpt:

Snowpack in the Blue River Basin peaked at about 85 percent of average on March 1. Since then, high winds and warmer temperatures (literally) vaporized an already deficient snowpack to 9 percent of average as of May 15. Less snow and warmer temperatures translate to earlier and severely diminished spring runoff. Basins that reach their prime in June or July achieved an unremarkable “blip” six to 10 weeks earlier than average. At present, all the principal water courses within the county are flowing less than 33 percent of average (several are less than 20 percent) with a few of the streams already breaking record low flows…

Due to drought conditions in the Blue River watershed, water providers in Summit County are implementing increased levels of water conservation. Please go to your water provider’s website to see how these changes will affect you. For additional water conservation tips visit: www.blueriverwatershed.org.

Meanwhile, wish firefighters luck in containing the High Park Fire. Here’s a report from the Fort Collins Coloradoan (Sarah Jane Kyle). Here’s an excerpt:

As of Sunday evening, the High Park Fire exceeded 20,000 acres, fueled by windy, dry conditions that have left crews with “no hope for containment,” according to County Sheriff Justin Smith. A more specific size is expected this morning after aircraft use infrared cameras to measure the full extent of the fire burning 15 miles northwest of Fort Collins…Smith said the blaze is quickly becoming his worst nightmare, spreading “in every possible direction” as an already smoke-darkened Sunday night drew into its late hours. “This is simultaneously burning through every area we’ve been individually concerned about for the past two decades,” he said. “The best thing we have now is prayer for a change in weather.”

From the Montrose Daily Press (Katharhynn Heidelberg):

On Friday, the snowpack at the Natural Resource Conservation Service’s SNOWTEL site on Red Mountain Pass was 0 percent of average. The average for the day is about 8 inches of snow water equivalent.

While local reservoirs are storing water as intended, it’s uncertain whether Ridgway Reservoir will bump up the last 7 feet it needs to fill. The Uncompahgre Valley Water Users Association expects to place another call on the Uncompahgre River, after having lifted a call earlier this year. The association is also asking its urban yard and canal/lateral pump users to share the pain by cutting back use.

And, to the surprise of few, Montrose County is in severe drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor’s June 5 data.