Upper Gunnison River Water Conservancy District meeting confirms valley-wide drought fears

Monday night’s Upper Gunnison River Water Conservancy District (UGRWCD) meeting confirmed valley-wide drought fears. 

Board members gathered and enjoyed a provided dinner as presenters prepared statements that sent chills through the room. 

As community members know all too well, last month was the hottest February on record, and so far the region has been experiencing the warmest winter since 1895. This concerning trend continued into the first half of March, which was six degrees above normal statewide. Gunnison even experienced unseasonable temperatures of over 75 degrees this past weekend.These unnatural temperature spikes accelerate the water cycle, intensifying the drought conditions and rapidly diminishing the limited snowpack.

To put some of these unnatural temperatures into perspective, Coloradans are already looking at 64 percent of the state in drought due to the lowest snowpack in at least the last 40 years. 

With higher temperatures, snowmelt is already most of the way there. The rivers have already reached flow. Peak flow, the highest volume of water expected annually, will be nearly a month early. 

The accelerated runoff creates challenges for water storage and conservation efforts.

The consequences are severe as water supply is at about half of what the area had in 2018, another historically dry year. The Gunnison Basin typically relies on two “full fills,” or complete saturations of subsurface soil pores, to maintain ground moisture. This year the land will be lucky to even receive one, signaling a critical shortage for agriculture.

UGRWCD President Don Sabrowski announced that the Taylor Local Users group had their first meeting. 

“Our water is not going to happen this year,” Sabrowski said. 

The group’s purpose is to help direct water users in the Taylor. They’ve decided the flow from the dam will be 60 cubic feet per second (cfs) in a proactive effort to conserve water, with normal winter flows looking at around 75 cfs. While the flow is reduced, it remains above the minimum 50 cfs that they need to maintain a healthy standard for fish hatcheries and other wildlife. 

“Every little bit helps.”

UGRWCD is in support of a collaboration with Trout Unlimited to restore Willow and Illinois Creek to protect the cold water fisheries.  

The highest release currently projected will be around July 1, but that is subject to change. 

“Hopefully we can get the word out to everybody that this is going to be a difficult year,” said Sabrowski. That sentiment was echoed many times throughout the meeting regarding water conservation at every level, starting now. 

The drought’s impact is already threatening local infrastructure projects. The meeting opened with Pete Rice, the city’s public works director, giving the board a refresher on the new water treatment plan. Rice mentioned that during construction, which is planned for this summer into the fall, half of the river will have to be dammed at Jack’s Cabin, but this year’s lack of water could delay the construction an entire year.