The most asked question around the club is, "How is our water situation?" As complicated as this resource is for the club, I will explain our situation over the next three blog posts. This post will discuss snowpack and river flows. The second blog will focus on storage water. The third blog will discuss the summer ahead.
There are three web sites I check daily to monitor our snowpack and river flows. This map shows our current situation on snowpack throughout the state. Pinehurst is located in the South Platte water shed. Mt. Evans is at the top of our watershed (located in the red marker at the top of the map below). The closest SNOTEL location that measures snow depth and water equivalent is slightly north of Mt. Evans at Echo Lake. Echo Lake is also close to the origin of Bear Creek which provides irrigation water for the club. This is the highest snowpack and best snow/water equivalent we have seen since 2011.
The third website monitors Bear Creek flows. The flows are then diverted through a couple of ditch systems to be delivered to the club. (PCC is located north of Marston Reservoir that can be seen clearly in the bottom left corner of this map)
Bear Creek is known as one of the hardest working creeks in the state as it provides water to numerous golf courses, a cemetery, schools, state and federal properties and other users. As you will notice on the stream flow website, flows are below average levels. Most of this has to do with the current temperatures. As the temperatures rise in the spring, you will notice that streamflows increase as well.
As tempting as warm weather will be, a slow warm up will maintain a steady run-off. When temperatures are quick to rise, this increases the chance for floods, avalanche and a lot of good water running past us and going down stream.
A direct flow is river water measured in cubic feet per second (cfs). The Department of Natural Resources within the State of Colorado measures and distributes flow rights throughout the state. The club has two sources of direct flow water, the Warrior Ditch and the Harriman Canal. The most beneficial source is the Warrior Ditch, that enters the club at the 9th & 10th hole. We have senior rights on this ditch and it provides about half of our irrigation supply for the year if not more in some years.
The Harriman Canal is a junior right and is not as productive as the Warrior Ditch. This water is sent to us via the Ft. Logan Ditch (which runs through the 2nd through 6th holes on the Maxwell).
Once direct flows run out of priority for the club, depending on all of these variables, we then turn to storage water.
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