The calculated soil moisture anomaly in mm for September 21, 2026 — #Climate Prediction Center
Day: September 22, 2026
#Aspen contributes #RuediReservoir allocation to #drought relief — Aspen Daily News #FryingpanRiver
Click the link to read the article on Aspen Daily News website. Here’s an excerpt:
September 15, 2026
A portion of the city of Aspen’s water allocation in Ruedi Reservoir will be utilized to support regional drought response efforts, according to an informational memo sent to the Aspen City Council last week. The city will make up to 350 acre-feet of its annual water allocation from Ruedi available to support drought response efforts. It has access to 400 acre-feet annually. The water will be used to assist the Colorado River Water Conservation District’s emergency substitute water supply plan, which provides supplemental water supplies for municipal and domestic historic user pool beneficiaries and other eligible water users whose supplies may not otherwise be fully available during current drought conditions.
“By making a portion of the city’s available contract water supply available for release, Aspen is helping maintain water supplies used to support municipal and domestic water users affected by the current drought conditions and administration associated with the Cameo call,” the memo states.
The Cameo call consists of a series of water rights on the Colorado River. It keeps water instream until it reaches the Grand Junction area, and can mean upstream diversions may need to shut down or release additional water into the river to meet the needs of the Cameo call. The release of the water also provides benefits to streamflows, aquatic habitats, fisheries and riparian resources within the Roaring Fork and Colorado rivers, according to the memo.
U.S. Senator Michael Bennet and U.S. Representative Jeff Hurd talk Shoshone Power Plant funding at the #ColoradoRiver District Annual Seminar — The #GrandJunction Daily Sentinel #COriver #aridification #CRD2026
Click the link to read the article on the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel website (Dan West). Here’s an excerpt:
September 19, 2026
The proposed purchase of the Shoshone Power Plant’s water rights took center stage at the Colorado River District’s Annual Water Seminar held at Colorado Mesa University on Friday, Sept. 18. While much of the annual meeting covered the historic drought that threatened the Western Slope and the rest of the Colorado River Basin, the Shoshone effort was held up as an example of how to manage water rights. Colorado River District General Manager Andy Mueller devoted a section of his keynote speech to the effort to purchase the power plant and its senior water rights for $99 million.
“It’s been going on since this district was formed in the 1930s,” Mueller said. “We have been trying to gain control and ensure permanency of the water rights that command the river related to this little power plant in Glenwood Canyon.”
There has been positive progress on the purchase, Mueller said, including raising more than $97 million from local, state and federal partners. The district also got a positive decision from the Colorado Water Conservation Board [8-0 vote on instream flow application]. However, there is still more negotiations underway, he said…On the funding side, Mueller credited Sen. Michael Bennet and Rep. Jeff Hurd for helping to secure and get released $40 million in federal funding for the purchase. Bennet and Hurd sat down for an “armchair conversation” about Shoshone at the seminar Friday afternoon…After lunch, Hurd and Bennet sat down and gave each other credit for the bipartisan effort to get the $40 million in federal funding for the Shoshone purchase. Bennet insisted on its inclusion in the Inflation Reduction Act during the Biden administration…When the Trump administration came in, it funded tens of millions of dollars in funding approved through that legislation. Hurd said he worked behind the scenes to convince the administration to release the funding.
“Give Jeff full credit for that,” Bennet said. “He landed this plane because I wasn’t getting my calls returned from the Trump administration and he was. He told them it was his number one priority.”
The #ColoradoRiver District Annual Seminar focused on preparing for hotter, drier future — The #GrandJunction Daily Sentinel #COriver #aridification #CRD2026
Click the link to read the article on the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel website (Dan West). Here’s an excerpt:
September 19, 2026
The Colorado River District’s Annual Water Seminar held at Colorado Mesa University on Friday, Sept. 18, naturally focused on this year’s historic heat and drought that left many on the Western Slope facing water shortages, but it also looked toward the future and the positive steps taken to address this year’s challenges…
“Unprecedented. Worst ever. Miserable. Warmest ever. Hottest ever,” [Andy] Mueller said. “You can keep going, but I want to also say that this was a year of extremely collaborative creativity in western Colorado. It is really important to recognize that, applaud that and make sure we grow that, because it is how we get through tough times. It’s how we’re going to survive and thrive in the future.”
[…]
Mueller highlighted the collaboration between communities, irrigation companies and water users throughout the district. He said there were many efforts that helped extend the irrigation season…
There were also areas, especially in the North Fork Valley and the Gunnison River, that have seen severe impacts from the drought. Colorado’s largest reservoir, Blue Mesa, is also in a dire condition, he said.
“On the Gunnison, there’s a train wreck that is accelerating at Blue Mesa,” Mueller said. “We are working with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Uncompahgre Valley Water Users and the Upper Gunnison Water Conservancy District to try to figure out solutions. But that reservoir, if anybody hasn’t seen it recently, is not just one reservoir anymore. It’s a bunch of little pools. It has dried up.”
[…]
Facing the challenges the future presents won’t be easy, Mueller said, but the next generations will depend on work done now.
“When I talk to my daughters who are in their 20s, they and their friends are absolutely scared for their future,” Mueller said. “They are extremely intelligent, they’re paying attention, but they look at this tremendous uncertainty that we have created in our society and in our globe. They need our help, helping them see the future. That is our job to do that.”
