Research technicians Curtis Beutler, right, and Alex Newman, left, work on recording snow density measurements in a snow pit near Crested Butte during January 2021. The measurements they record will be used to analyze snow structure and chemistry, both of which influence melt rate and nutrient loads during spring runoff. (Forrest Czarnecki/The Gazette) (Forrest Czarnecki)
HIGH AND DRY: THE SERIES
The severe drought that swept through Colorado in 2020 could be a harbinger of what the future will hold. However, in the arid Southwest, it’s not the first time that such challenges have wrecked lives and livelihoods.
In this part of the series we’ll share images that explore the science behind climate change and shifting water resources, the challenges that new developments face amid a hotter and drier future and some of the research being done to better understand Colorado’s water in the years to come.
Research technicians Curtis Beutler, right, and Alex Newman, left, work on recording snow density measurements in a snow pit near Crested Butte during January 2021. The measurements they record will be used to analyze snow structure and chemistry, both of which influence melt rate and nutrient loads during spring runoff. (Forrest Czarnecki/The Gazette) (Forrest Czarnecki)Research technician Alex Newman works on attaching a needle to a special syringe that is used to extract gasses from different layers of the snowpack during a research outing near Crested Butte in January 2021. The gasses extracted by Newman will be used to analyze the chemistry of the snowpack, along with organic compounds present in the different snow layers, which impact nutrient load in the runoff once spring hits. (Forrest Czarnecki/The Gazette) (Forrest Czarnecki)Alistair Vierod, a research associate with the Colorado Climate Center, records snowfall measurements at the CCC station in Fort Collins in October 2020. The CCC has been tracking climate information for the state since the 1890s and volunteers like Vierod record measurements twice a day, every day, and add them to the record books. (Forrest Czarnecki/The Gazette) (Forrest Czarnecki)The Arkansas River near Fowler serves as the dividing line between Otero and Crowley counties. Crowley County is often held up as a poster child example of a county that sold off much of its water rights, and the agricultural economy suffered as such. Back in the 1990s, Crowley County residents and ag producers sold off many of their water rights to cities like Aurora, Denver and other Front Range municipalities, and has become a face for the term “buy and dry.” (Forrest Czarnecki/The Gazette) (Forrest Czarnecki)Pronghorn run across and open field owned by the Banning Lewis Ranch group, likely to be turned into another large subdivision on the northeast corner of Colorado Springs. With the population of Colorado Springs growing and development increasing, there are serious questions about how and where the city will get water from in the future, and some projects include building more reservoirs and even tunneling water to the Front Range from the other side of the Continental Divide. (Forrest Czarnecki/The Gazette) (Forrest Czarnecki)The Banning Lewis Ranch development in the northeast corner of Colorado Springs has seen explosive growth in the past several years, and along with that growth comes a demand for water resources in a state that is already struggling with how to manage and supply water resources to a booming population across the Front Range. (Forrest Czarnecki/The Gazette) (Forrest Czarnecki)Workers install solar panels on a home in the Banning Lewis Ranch development on the northeast side of Colorado Springs in early January 2021. The subdivision is among one of the largest in the city, and has seen explosive growth in recent years. (Forrest Czarnecki/The Gazette) (Forrest Czarnecki)A front-end loader for Colorado Springs Utilities pushes a pile of sediment and gravel off the boat ramp at Rampart Reservoir near Woodland Park in January 2021. The reservoir supplies the city, and as the population of the Springs grows, the city is considering building additional reservoirs to serve as water sources. (Forrest Czarnecki/The Gazette) (Forrest Czarnecki)Kira Puntenney-Desmond, left, and David Peterson, right, with Colorado State University check stream gauges on seasonal streams in the Poudre Canyon west of Fort Collins in September 2020. The pair works with the university to track and record seasonal stream flows in the largest river system in the northern part of the state, which are an important part of the hydrologic cycle. (Forrest Czarnecki/The Gazette) (Forrest Czarnecki)Alex Newman, left, and Curtis Beutler, right, work on augering a hole into the East River near Crested Butte they prepare to take water samples that will be analyzed for certain nitrogen isotopes as part of a study looking at how snowmelt patterns influence nutrient loads in spring runoff. (Forrest Czarnecki/The Gazette) (Forrest Czarnecki)The sun sets over Fowler along the Arkansas River east of Pueblo in early January 2021. Fowler is just across the river from Crowley County, and is an example of a community that has managed and been able to hold onto their water rights, as opposed to many of the communities in Crowley County which sold their water rights back in the 1990s, leading to a crash in much of the agricultural economy for the county. (Forrest Czarnecki/The Gazette) (Forrest Czarnecki)The Banning Lewis Ranch development is growing so quickly that many lots are sold before ground is even broken on them and a foundation is laid for a home. Among the larger developments in the Colorado Springs area, the subdivision will require a large supply of water resources, and the city is currently coping with how to supply water to more and more subdivisions like this in the future. (Forrest Czarnecki/The Gazette) (Forrest Czarnecki)Research technicians Alex Newman, left, and Curtis Beutler, right, collect groundwater samples from a well near Crested Butte in January 2021. The pair is part of a team of researchers looking at how to better model snowmelt patterns in the Rockies, and what new melting patterns might mean for modeling water quality and quantity. (Forrest Czarnecki/The Gazette) (Forrest Czarnecki)David Peterson packs up a piece of equipment used to measure the flow rate in a seasonal stream in the upper Poudre Canyon west of Fort Collins in September 2020. Seasonal streams are critical contributors to the water table in many large river systems across the state. (Forrest Czarnecki/The Gazette) (Forrest Czarnecki)A tributary of the Poudre River west of Fort Collins is dried up amid a massive heat wave in the middle of September 2020. Seasonal and ephemeral streams are important sources of groundwater and contribute significantly to larger water systems, such as the Poudre River drainage. (Forrest Czarnecki/The Gazette) (Forrest Czarnecki)Kira Puntenney-Desmond, left, and David Peterson, right, check the data from a rainfall gauge in the upper Poudre Canyon west of Fort Collins in September 2020. The pair is working with Colorado State University to study the hydrologic cycle in the largest river system in northern Colorado, including measurements of rainfall and seasonal streams, both of which are vital contributors to the water table. (Forrest Czarnecki/The Gazette) (Forrest Czarnecki)Russ Schumacher is the state climatologist for Colorado, and noted that in 2020 Colorado saw about six inches below average precipitation. Schumacher also said that even with average or just below average precipitation, extreme drought can still set in with record setting heat waves and extended periods of high temperatures, like the state saw in much of 2020. (Forrest Czarnecki/The Gazette) (Forrest Czarnecki)A weather measurement tool is pictured at the Colorado Climate Center research station in Fort Collins in October 2020. This gauge measures wind speed, which is important in determining the evapotranspiration rate, a process that causes the loss of water across a landscape due to heat and wind. (Forrest Czarnecki/The Gazette) (Forrest Czarnecki)Climate and weather record keeping materials sit on a desk at the Colorado Climate Center’s recording station at Colorado State University in Fort Collins in October 2020. The CCC has been tracking the state’s weather and climate since 1895. (Forrest Czarnecki/The Gazette) (Forrest Czarnecki)A weather gauge that measures rainfall and other weather conditions is pictured in at the Colorado Climate Center’s research station in Fort Collins in October 2020. This gauge measures rainfall, snowfall and other moisture-related metrics. (Forrest Czarnecki/The Gazette) (Forrest Czarnecki)
