‘Familiar territory': Aspen implements water restrictions, anticipates severe drought
DENVER (KDVR) — The city of Aspen is currently experiencing drought conditions, and city officials voted Tuesday to implement stage 1 water restrictions.
The restrictions are voluntary for residents, but it is recommended that they try and attain a 10% reduction in water use. However, the 10% water reduction goal is mandatory for government properties.
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Steve Hunter, utilities resource manager for the city of Aspen, said that the city has been 'out of drought for about two years, which has been pretty great, but we're now we're back in a familiar territory.'
The U.S. Drought Monitor is listing 82% of Pitkin County as being under severe drought conditions, or D2, with 15% in 'moderate' drought conditions and a small sliver in the western portion of the county listed as extreme.
'Pretty reminiscent of what's happening in southwest U.S. right now, severe drought, extreme drought: the big reservoirs are still empty,' Hunter said. 'All the rivers are down pretty low for this time of year, I mean, you can wade across the Roaring Fork Mid Valley right now, which is pretty unbelievable. Our local reservoirs that we get power from, Ruedi (reservoir) and Ridgeway, are expected to fill, so that's a good thing.'
Hunter said that the Roaring Fork River at Glenwood Springs is expected to be at about 60% of average runoff this year, which is significantly lower than last year. Between early April and mid-May, officials said that the snowpack had melted approximately 14% last year. For the same time period this year, the snowpack melted almost 45%.
'So almost half of that snowpack left,' Hunter said. 'We do have snowpack up high still, which has kind of been a saving grace.'
Hunter said that a bright spot for the city is that climatologists are predicting a wetter-than-average North American monsoon season. The monsoon season starts in mid-July for Colorado.
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