From the Summit County Citizens Voice (Bob Berwyn):
Summit County residents and visitors are in for an unpleasant surprise when the snow melts in a couple of months. Dillon Reservoir, the centerpiece of the area’s summer recreation activities, is going to be lower than at anytime during the past 10 years. Denver Water has continued to shunt water through the Roberts Tunnel during the early winter and according to the latest projections, the reservoir will probably drop another 10 feet by March.
The Blue River Basin’s SNOTEL sites are at just 50 percent of historic averages, below last year’s numbers and approaching the record-low levels of 1981, according to Blue River Basin water commissioner Troy Wineland.
“We’re going to see a reservoir that looks like a pond, dry brittle forests … the recreation economy will feel the impacts,” Wineland said. “I would hope that we’re going to see a lot more mandatory water restrictions. They could’ve done a heck of a lot better job last summer,” he said.