Parched
2026
Cracked and split, a fragile land laced with scars and grooves.
The west slope of the Rockies is parched.
Spring has revealed the lightest snowpack in Colorado since scientists began taking measurements 41 years ago.
Following another dry winter, the melt from shallow snowfields seeps into this dry earth. Not much makes its way into brooks and streams that eventually reach the Colorado River.
Back in March, we had an unusual heat wave, which aggravated things by melting the snowpack too soon.
Upstream, a million acre feet of water has begun to flow south on the Green River out of the Flaming Gorge Reservoir which straddles Utah and Wyoming, downstream to Lake Powell so the turbines can safely keep churning.
And to make sure there’s a bit of top off for Lake Powell there’s possibly a further boost, plans afoot to cut back flows to Lake Mead.
This is the precarious plumbing of the west, and so we cheer on the scientists and engineers trying to make the best of a bad situation.
