After years of drought, snowpack this season in Colorado has hit above-normal and near-record levels.
Amid what is typically Colorado’s snowiest month — March — concerns about possible flooding are rising.
“It definitely is worrisome,” said Mark Haynes, chief of dam safety with the Colorado Division of Water Resources. “We need to make sure to monitor and watch how the snowpack will melt off.”
February marked the third consecutive month of above-average snowfall in the mountains. March 1 snow surveys, by the Natural Resources Conservation Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, show above-average snowpack in every major river basin of the state.
The Rio Grande River Basin is at a whopping 169 percent of average, and many water reservoirs around the state are storing water at, or above, average rates.
“We are especially tuned into what our reservoir operators are doing. They’ll use our runoff forecasts to see what type of inflows they can expect,” said Mike Gillespie, snow-survey supervisor with the NRCS. “They will be planning accordingly to draw down those reservoirs” if necessary.
Colorado’s statewide snowpack increased to 135 percent of average this month, a slight rise from the 129 percent recorded last month.
Colorado continues to report its highest snowpack levels since 1997, when the state’s snowpack was 143 percent of average on March 1.
Some streams and rivers across southern Colorado will have runoff volumes more than 150 percent of average during the spring and summer months, said Allen Green, state conservationist with the NRCS. Above-average stream flows also can be expected in the Gunnison, Arkansas, and Colorado River basins this year.
The governor’s Flood Task Force will meet March 17, and the state’s snowpack will give the group much to discuss.
Denver’s reservoir system is currently at 90 percent capacity, according to Denver Water, at a time when it is typically at 81 percent.
Denver Water staffers are keeping an eye on the state’s water basins and upcoming weather, especially in the mountains.
“Because of flood concerns, we are closely monitoring the snowpack above Dillon Reservoir,” said Marc Waage, water resource engineer for Denver Water. “The reservoir was not built for flood control, but we can make operational adjustments to try to store some of the peak runoff. We’ve done this in past high-water years to reduce the risk of flooding downstream of the dam.”
Kieran Nicholson: 303-954-1822 or knicholson@denverpost.com
