Colorado River District Water Resources Engineer/Project Manager Rebecca Briesemoore presented at the District’s “State of the River” meeting in Meeker last Wednesday. LUCAS TURNER PHOTOS
Visitors and locals filled the Fairfield Center event space last week for the Colorado River District’s (CRD) “White River — State of the River” meeting. CRD staff hosted the event, sharing information about the history, funding, governance structure and current roles advocating for constituents within the district’s 15 Western Slope counties. CRD Water Resources Engineer/Project Manager Rebecca Briesemoore noted that at least 65% of the Colorado River’s natural flow comes from the Colorado River district. She also highlighted the mission of CRD as leading the protection, conservation and development of water resources on the Western Slope, and safeguarding “all waters of the Colorado River to which the State is entitled.”
HYDROLOGIC REALITY
Briesmoore’s update touched on the challenging dynamics of these goals for an overallocated Colorado River, which serves as the water source for more than 40 million people across seven US States. “We have a system out of balance,” She said, highlighting how overuse of water in the lower-basin states (California, Arizona, Nevada) in addition to rising temperatures, hotter/dryer climates and ever-increasing demands have motivated various stopgap measures by the state and federal governments to preserve declining water levels in Lake Powell and Lake Mead. Those measures have included emergency water releases from Upper Basin reservoirs, the initiation of the System Conservation Program which compensates water users for reducing consumption, and the adoption of a Drought Contingency Plan. Additionally, despite long-term consistency under-utilizing their legally allocated shares of water, Upper Basin states have managed to reduce water consumption year-by-year, using an average of 4.4 million acre feet (AF) per year over the last decade. In the same span of time the lower basin uses an average 8.8 million acre feet per year. “They do not live within the hydrologic reality because they have Lake Mead upstream” said Briesmoore, emphasizing the key dynamic at the heart of CRD’s roles in pursuing sustainable and equitable water usage for Coloradans in the future.
WATER OUTLOOK/FORECAST
Division 6 Engineer Erin Light shared insights on the water/streamflow forecast for the year, looking at snowpack, soil moisture, and historical data. Light noted the challenges of making accurate predictions by highlighting last year’s predictions being a bit off, mainly because of varying soil moisture levels. “Even with a strong snowpack in 2023, the water that actually flowed was less than we expected, showing how things like soil moisture affect our forecasts,” Light explained, reiterating that above average snowpack levels this year could still be offset by below-average soil-moisture levels throughout the state, particularly if April precipitation levels are below average.
MEASUREMENT RULE UPDATES
Division 6 Water Commissioner and Hydrographer/Measuring Role Coordinator Jacob Olsen shared updates on new measurement rules, upcoming compliance deadlines in 2025 and 2026 for various water structures and reservoirs including specific exemptions and requirements to meet regulatory standards. He encouraged water users seeking information and assistance to attend upcoming workshops planned for April 15 in Meeker and April 18 in Rangely.
GROUNDWATER MODELING
Liz Chandler has been coordinating an extensive groundwater supply study in and around Meeker and the Upper White river with the help of Dr. Ryan T. Bailey, Associate Professor in the Civil and Environmental Engineering department at Colorado State University. Goals of the study are to 1) quantify agricultural “return flows” in the White River, especially in the winter, based on current irrigation practices, and 2) build a groundwater model specific to the hydrology of the White River Basin.
Chandler displayed images visualizing data from well-bores, irrigation diversions, geological, elevation & climate data to build the groundwater model that will then be tested against real world conditions for accuracy.
The study which started in 2019 is being funded by the Colorado River District, Colorado Water Conservation Board, and CSU Water Center.
OTHER PRESENTATIONS
Other Information shared by presenters at the meeting were:
• Colorado River District’s Community Funding Partnership Program by Program Manager Mellissa Wills
• Current status of the proposed Wolf Creek Reservoir by Wade Hearle
• A review of the riparian restoration efforts, results and challenges by Rusty Loyd with Rivers Edge West
• An update from board members of the Yellow Jacket Water Conservancy District about a recent approval from Colorado Parks and Wildlife and the Bureau of Land Management to study the feasibility of expanding Lake Avery’s storage capacity.
