While the winter weather this year has been pleasant for many of us, for Gary Kennedy, superintendent at the Mancos Water Conservancy District, the warm weather has been more than worrisome.
"It's hard to say anything until the end of March, but as things sit, it is not looking good," Kennedy said.
Record high temperatures this February have already melted the lower-level snow pack, which isn't good news for Mancos water users.
"I am sitting at 7,800 feet elevation, and the only snow I have visible is in the shaded areas under the trees," he said.
Jackson Lake is at 37 percent of its capacity, a bit under the average of 40 percent for this time of year, Kennedy said.
But the snowpack has Kennedy worried.
"We rely 100 percent on snowpack," Kennedy said.
And the snowpack that feeds into Jackson Lake is running at 52 percent of average.
Most of the water for Mancos and Mesa Verde comes off of Hesperus Peak and Sharks Tooth.
Kennedy said he has been in the water business for 25 years and he has seen it dry before, but he has never seen it this dry for this long.
"This is our fourth year in a row of having to cut allocations. I have never seen this," he said.
Cutting allocations again, seems inevitable.
There will be a meeting Feb. 25 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Mancos Grange Hall to discuss the water situation with the Division of Water Resources and the Mancos Water Conservancy District.
"Anybody that gets water off the river should attend," Kennedy said. "There is a lot of stuff to go over in two hours."
In the meantime, Kennedy is just hoping the weather turns around.
"We hope March is extremely good to us," he said.
John Porter, former manager of the Dolores Water Conservancy District will moderate the meeting.
When asked if Porter has seen it this warm and dry before he said, "I suspect I have, but that doesn't keep us from worrying."
One hot topic discussed at the meeting next week will be the management of water.
"The division of water resources has changed the way they have managed the river," Kennedy said. "It makes it a little harder to fill the reservoir."
