Why local snowpack is important

By Irene Shonle, Director CSU Extension in Gilpin CountyOverall, snowpack in Colorado is great so far this year (statewide, 114% of normal). As of February 25th, the South Platte River Basin (our watershed) is 110% of normal and the Arkansas is 125%. West slope river basins range from 107% to 122%.This is great news to urban dwellers, to farmers and ranchers and to states downstream from us to whom we owe water, since that snowpack will soon be melting into water and rushing down the mountains in our streams and rivers.This is especially welcome news after the dismal snowpacks of the last few years.
However, river basin snowpack means very little to us locally. The water many of us mountain dwellers drink comes from wells, and not from reservoirs or large underground aquifers as it does in the flatlands.  The production of those wells is entirely dependent on the precipitation that falls in our own yards. It’s very local. And, along the Front Range, from about 7,500’ to 9,000’, we have n