The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation is preparing to open the Fryingpan-Arkansas collection system to divert a projected 57,000 acre-feet of water in April as highlighted in the Arkansas River Watershed Collaborative March River Report.
The Arkansas River Watershed Coalition’s latest River Reports shows December brought above-average snowpack to most of Colorado, but Arkansas River Basin snowpack remains low at 81% of median, up from 76% a month ago.
In it’s latest River Report, the Arkansas River Watershed Collaborative notes, “Monsoon rains have lifted a swath of the Arkansas River Basin out of drought conditions.”
Monsoonal weather continued during the past week, ending drought conditions in southern Chaffee County and continuing to lessen drought severity across the Arkansas Basin.
Colorado saw the return of monsoon weather patterns this past week, bringing welcome precipitation to the Arkansas Basin.
Wetter weather patterns have tempered drought conditions in the upper Arkansas Basin and boosted snowpack, but the latest U.S. Drought Monitor report shows Extreme to Exceptional drought across southeast Colorado.
Colorado welcomed a weekend storm that brought snow and rain across the Arkansas River Basin.
Arkansas River Basin streamflow forecasts range from a low of 22 percent of average for Grape Creek near Westcliffe to a high of 82 percent for the Arkansas River at Salida.
