Did You Know...

. . . that the midwestern U.S. is in the midst of the worst drought in recorded history? Worse than the drought that caused the "dirty 30s." So, while both the east and west coasts have recently experienced extreme precipitation events, the middle part of the country is dealing with severe water shortages.

During 2002, the flow of the Rio Grande River into Elephant Butte Reservoir in central New Mexico was two percent of normal. The Corps of Engineers reports that in January 2003, mountain snowpack above Fort Peck Dam on the Missouri River was 58 percent of normal. Dams throughout the midwest are at low levels, as storage has been withdrawn during the past few years to provide water for agricultural, industrial and municipal needs.

USSD Member James H. Weldon reports that Denver Water storage is at 40 percent of capacity, following three years of a drought that is continuing, based on current mountain snowpack.

Thanks to dams, water users in Denver and elsewhere in the midwest will continue to have some water for drinking, irrigation, power generation and navigation. Reservoirs throughout the area will provide limited water supplies for the foreseeable future, although many farms will be dry, and lawns in Denver and other cities will be brown this summer.

And, when this drought ends and flood conditions return, the dams will stand ready to store the excess flows for the next drought!

(reprinted from the USSD Newsletter, November 2002, page 3)