Drought over, at least from Denver's vantage

Brimming reservoirs highest since 1999

Jim Erickson, Rocky Mountain News

Published October 16, 2006 at midnight

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Denver Water's reservoirs are fuller now than they've been in any October since 1999.

As far as the utility's water-storage system is concerned, "The drought is essentially over," a company resource engineer said Friday.

Denver Water reservoirs are at 90 percent capacity, three percentage points higher than the long-term average for this time of year, 87 percent.

That difference may not sound like much, but it amounts to roughly 20,000 acre-feet of water, enough to supply about 40,000 households for a year, resource engineer Bob Steger said.

In October 2002, during the depths of the multiyear drought, water levels in Denver Water reservoirs dropped to 51 percent of capacity.

The Oct. 1 levels rebounded to 79 percent in 2003, 76 percent in 2004 and 88 percent last year.

"We're well-positioned for next year, although we still need to have a decent snowpack," Steger said.

"We need to continue using water wisely, but the drought is essentially over."

Greg Fisher, chief planner for Denver Water, attributed the increased storage to: a healthy April 1 snowpack; reduced demand from the utility's 1.2 million customers during the six-month outdoor watering season; and well-placed summer and fall rains that fed the reservoirs.

Water use among Denver Water customers during the 2006 outdoor watering season, which ended Sept. 30, was 11 percent below predrought levels.

"Our customers continue to do a great job in keeping their water use down and using only what they need," Fisher said Friday.

While Denver Water reservoirs have thrived, some parts of Colorado are still plagued by drought.

Early October's cool, wet weather in western Colorado brought an end to abnormal dryness there, according to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor report, released Thursday.

But much of northeastern Colorado continues to suffer moderate to extreme drought conditions, according to the multiagency federal report.

In Denver, recent rains make it appear less likely - though still possible - that 2006 will be the driest year in the city's history.

The current holder of that title is 2002, when just 7.48 inches were recorded at Denver International Airport.

That's less than half the normal year-end total of 15.81 inches.

As of Friday afternoon, the National Weather Service had recorded 6.24 inches of precipitation at the airport this year - 7.33 inches below normal.

In the last three months of the year, Denver normally receives 2.60 inches. If the rest of the year is anywhere near normal, the 2002 dryness record will stand.

But you never know.

The winter outlook issued Tuesday by the federal Climate Prediction Center calls for warmer-than-normal temperatures in Colorado and equal chances of either wetter-than-normal or drier-than-normal weather.

A weak El Niño system has developed in the tropical Pacific and is expected to persist through the winter, possibly strengthening to "moderate" levels over the next few months, forecasters say.

An El Niño is a periodic warming of tropical Pacific surface waters that affects climate worldwide. El Niños also affect the location of the storm track over North America.

The current event is expected to bring wetter-than-average winter weather across the southern tier of states, from Southern California to Texas and Florida, according to the Climate Prediction Center.

Through February, Colorado is not expected to see much - if any - of that extra moisture.

But by March, the southern half of the state may reap some El Niño benefits, according to federal forecasters.

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