LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — While the season for snowfall in Colorado got off to a good start, experts say the snowpack in "the Rocky Mountains" is below average.
The snow eventually melts and empties into the Colorado River, one of our primary water sources.
While it is early in the season, I took a look at what the numbers say.
"You wonder where it is going to end with our water problem," said John Fisk.
I recently talked to John Fisk about a newly approved master planned community that is coming to the northwest valley. With all the growth here, on his mind was our primary water source, the Colorado River.
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"If we don't get some snow on the Colorado, we are all going to wonder where the end of it is," said Fisk.
Every year, people up and down the Colorado River wait to see what the snowpack will be like in the Colorado Rocky Mountains.
As we near the end of the year and the start of the snowy season, the upper Colorado sits at about 85% of the average, according to the Bureau of Reclamation. That means right now, we are below average. The snowmelt eventually melts into the Colorado River and fills Powell and Mead.
"We had a good start to the winter a month or two ago that is very early, and what we have seen in the last month or two or so is pretty dry conditions," said John Berggern, the Regional Policy Manager.
I talked to John Berggern from Western Resource Advocates, a group working to address climate issues in the West.
He says the bulk of the snow usually comes in the winter and early Spring, so we still have to wait and see.
"The general trends aren't looking good, soil moisture trends aren't looking great, so this could be another year you end up with slightly below or average snowpack," said Berggern.
With less snow in recent years, it stresses the importance of a plan for the future.
Right now, the federal government is considering plans for managing the Colorado River System in years after 2026.
"As a basin, we are going to have to find ways to use less water. It is a big question about who uses less and when they use less. That is the only sustainable solution to managing this river," said Berggern.
As we enter the official winter season, we will have to wait to see if more moisture comes.
