As river revivals go, Colorado’s most recent is bordering on the miraculous.
The month that began with dismal predictions of drought throughout much of the state has morphed into a soggy saga of overflowing rivers and reservoirs with forecasts of more to come.
Although all of this rain includes the unfortunate side effect of flooding in some areas, those whose livelihoods depend upon flowing water are quick to count their blessings.
“This May has really been a miracle in Colorado,” Eric Kuhn, general manager of the Colorado River Water Conservation District, told a crowd gathered last week at the Mesa County State of the Rivers meeting in Grand Junction.
Although snowpack peaked well below average throughout much of the state last winter, the late spring surge of heavy rain and high country snow has bolstered water levels statewide. Reservoirs that feed the Colorado River in Colorado are expected to fill, and Lake Powell could see 1 million to 1.5 million acre-feet of water flow in, Kuhn said.
Of the state’s eight major river basins, only the upper Rio Grande (84 percent) and the Yampa/White drainage (86 percent) remain below 100 percent of the median snowpack for this time of year. And although flooding along the South Platte basin has dominated the headlines, the Arkansas River — wildly popular among whitewater paddlers and fishermen both — actually leads the state’s snow/water table at 253 percent of median as of Tuesday.
While all snowpack is not created equal and late-season snows tend to melt off more quickly than early snow, the coinciding spate of cloudy and cool weather has held much of the recreational runoff at bay for the month of May. Memorial Day, considered by many as a “whitewater holiday,” marked only the beginning of a suddenly promising paddling season.
“Bottom line on the Arkansas and the outlook for rafting: good flows, potential for a relatively long runoff period and ample water anticipated for ‘imports’ from the Fry-Ark project and in storage to keep it going though the Voluntary Flow Management Period,” said Tony Keenan, former water resources manager for the Arkansas River Outfitters Association.
Others in the area agree with the optimistic assessment.
“The Arkansas River should have good flows through August,” said Bill Dvorak of Dvorak Expeditions. “And the fishing will be great because of the lower flows in the spring which facilitated the hatches that came off early in the season.”
A more gradual runoff initiated by controlled dam releases rather than snowmelt also bodes well for fishermen as rivers tend to run more clearly. Such is the case currently in many areas as water managers make space for the surprise surge, although rivers such as the Blue below Dillon Reservoir are maxed out with a dam release of 1,500 cubic feet per second.
Heavy rain, of course, is the wild card. More deluges will have an immediate impact on already saturated streams, including a propensity to muck up the clarity. Forecasters tell us to expect more precipitation virtually statewide in the next few days, but then again, nobody saw this coming. The only safe prediction is to hang on for another wild ride.
Scott Willoughby: swilloughby@denverpost.com or twitter.com/swilloughby
