Going With the Flow

As spring melts into summer, water users along the St. Vrain could find themselves up the creek.

A A A Comments By Steve Jackson Thursday, Jun 22 2000

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The situation has Gambrell worried. It's been a long time since anyone in these parts hung a river commissioner, even in effigy. Still, it's difficult to tell someone whose livelihood depends on watering his crops that he's been cut off. In other dry years, Gambrell has had to cut people off whose water-rights claims date as far back as the late 1870s. "They expect it, not this soon, but that's farming in Colorado," he says. But this summer, he predicts he'll have to go back even further, into the 1860s. "They're the ones who really aren't going to like it," he says. "They're not used to it.

"The best hope for many of the state's water users," according to the conservation service, "is for a wet summer monsoon and the ability to take advantage of the good reservoir storage across the state."

Tim Carney: In March, snowpack measurements brought good news.

Steve Jackson

Tim Carney: In March, snowpack measurements brought good news.

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Or, as Gambrell says, "Pray for rain."