End of the Monsoons
/We are fast approaching the end of the Monsoon season here in Southern Colorado and it seems this one has been a long one for me. I am not complaining too loudly as the area has been in the 4th year of a drought and this past year was the worst on record for over 100 years.
So it takes a lot of catching up to get back to normal. The rivers here feed the valley floor with life giving water and that water is used to raise a myriad of crops. Those same crops mean millions of dollars in income for the San Luis Valley which translates into jobs for everyone living both there and even some distance away.
The San Luis Valley has been compared to a huge underground lake. The water sits in the sand that underlies the valley floor and that is where most of the irrigation gets its water. Conversely, the mountains typically feed this huge underground reservoir with the streams and rivers that run down across the valley floor.
With the last 4 years of drought, the valley has been short on water running down the rivers and so the underground lake has not recharged. So the water that was used for irrigation and other things is not being replaced. There is a huge effort underway to stop over using the water and find a balance between what is needed and what is available.
it would take a huge amount of rainfall and snowpack over several years to bring the underground aquifer back up to normal. Its so interesting that the very thing that is needed, high water in the rivers, then causes more problems for the people in the valley in other ways. Flooding, washing out of irrigation structures, siltation problems are just a few of the problems that come with more water in the rivers. The more man tries to manage nature, the more we seem to mess it up.
The end of the rainy period is fast approaching and the high water in the rivers should start to recede. I believe that this will cause the river to clear some as there wont be the ash runoff from the fire areas in as much volume. This will allow the streams that are still running clear to add a more substantial proportion to the big river. Most of these streams are spring fed and so will help with the problem.
It remains to be seen what affect the ash flow and mud in the rivers had on the fish population. Currently, the water is so dirty you cant see more than an inch into the water. This makes fishing impossible with flies and lures if you want to catch anything.
The lakes remain SUPERB. I have never seen fishing this good. Get out there and enjoy the days as they clear and the rains subside. kk
Glorious summer morning on the Rio Grande