Colorado River District to host Water With Your Lunch: Rising temperatures and rising challenges.

Glenwood Springs, CO — Water is the lifeblood of the Western Slope, but where does it come from? In short, it comes from snow, spring rains and summer monsoons. And all three are being impacted by prolonged drought and increased weather variability in the Colorado River Basin.

The public can learn more about weather, water and climate at the Colorado River District’s free “Water With Your Lunch” Zoom webinar from noon to 1:15 p.m. Tuesday, July 14. State Climatologist Russ Schumacher will join River District Deputy Engineer Dave Kanzer in a discussion about the interrelationships between climate and hydrology — and the cycles of snow, rains and monsoons. In sum total, this is our water supply in the West.

Variability is a big piece of the hydrology puzzle. In 2000, the Colorado River Basin entered a long-term dry period. Though the Western Slope has received a few winters of good snowpack in the last two decades, this long-term trend is still in place and negatively impacting Western Colorado. Schumacher and Kanzer will examine how this “new normal” is showing that the record of previous averages and patterns is not holding up whether it be snow, rains or monsoons.

Water security for Western Colorado has been the Colorado River District’s chief mission since its founding in 1937. Protecting West Slope water starts with understanding the hydrology of each season and employing science and studies to inform water policies moving forward.

This is the third in the River District’s “Water With Your Lunch” series of lunchtime webinars. Previous webinars can be viewed Here