From water consumers to motorists, the weeks of rain in Denver and the state can be viewed in good light and bad. The constant downpours have been a nightmare to motorists who must navigate numerous potholes and detours because roads have been washed away.
Road repair crews must race to keep up. On Friday, U.S. 24 near Cascade and Manitou Springs was shut down for emergency repairs.
In Denver, pothole season — typically not quite as noticeable this time of year — is in full swing because of all the rain. Already, the city has seen about a 50 percent increase in the amount of potholes it has filled this year over the same time last year, according to Heather Burke, a spokeswoman for the Department of Public Works.
So far, Denver has filled 45,793 potholes, compared with 30,538 at this time last year. The reason stems from an unusual freeze-thaw cycle earlier this year — but the rain certainly doesn’t help, either.
The city’s 2015 budget for pothole repair is $2.2 million. While still under budget, it was unclear whether the city will need more pothole money to make it to the end of the year.
“They’ve been busy this season,” Burke said.
On the other hand, all the rain has been good news for anyone with a lawn. Many haven’t had to turn on their sprinklers or hoses at all, leaving water providers’ reservoirs brimming.
“Our buckets are full, with the exception of Jefferson Lake, and they’re spilling over,” Aurora Water spokesman Greg Baker said of the city’s 11 water-storage facilities throughout the state.
But such news is not all good, either.
Baker said Aurora Water has lost the equivalent of two weeks of revenue because people have used less water. So far this year, Aurora has piped in 4.7 billion gallons of water to be treated, compared with 5.4 billion gallons over the same time last year.
Excess water will be released from Chatfield and Cherry Creek in the coming days, and the fast and muddied waters in creeks and rivers statewide will make it tough on anglers.
As far as animals go, the rains haven’t really had an impact on them, except for small ground-dwelling critters such as prairie dogs and snakes — which may have been drowned or forced from their homes.
Most other animals are fine, said Jennifer Churchill, a spokeswoman for the Colorado Division of Parks and Wildlife.
“They’re used to being outside all the time,” she said. “They tend to adapt to different weather changes.”
Any moisture-loving plants are doing great, said Mike Kintgen, curator of alpine collections for Denver Botanic Gardens. But those that prefer drier climates and drain poorly aren’t doing as well.
Gardeners will want to wait until their beds dry out before tending to them again, he said. Also, there’s a small window of opportunity for plants such as tomatoes that have a longer growing season.
Kintgen said: “The rain has put off the planting season.”
Carlos Illescas: 303-954-1175, cillescas@denverpost.com or
