Are we overreacting to this drought?

Editor's note: A previous version of this story contained a math error in describing the 2026 snowpack compared to the 2002 snowpack in the South Platte River Basin where Denver Water collects water. The corrected sentence reads: The 2002 snowpack, previously the worst on record, had 760% more water than this year's snowpack.

It started off as concerning.

It quickly moved to alarming.

Now, it’s dire, even disastrous.

These are all words Denver Water and other water utility officials around the state have used to describe weather conditions over the past five months that contributed to the current drought situation.

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But are those adjectives accurate? Or is this just hyperbole?

Let’s take a look at some facts. First, we start with the winter we just experienced:

• According to the Colorado Climate Center, Colorado’s climatological winter (the months of December, January and February) was the warmest on record for the state, standing 1.6 degrees Fahrenheit above the previous warmest winter of 1980-81.
• In Denver Water’s South Platte River Watershed, the SNOTELs on April 1 measured 0.7 inches of snow water equivalent; the previous low was 5.3 inches. The 2002 snowpack, previously the worst on record, had 760% more water than this year's snowpack.
• Additionally, many areas along the Front Range saw no measurable precipitation in February, making it among the driest Februarys on record.
• Specific to Denver Water, our measurements showed the first three months of the 2025-26 snow season, from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31, 2025, ranked as the driest on record in Denver Water’s water collection area. Our records date back to 1978.
• And snow course records go back to the 1930s.  Many recorded a snowpack depth of zero on April 1 for the first time ever.

So, Denver Water and other water utilities along the Front Range were already dealing with record-low snowpack levels heading into spring. 

Then we were hit with the second of a devastating one-two punch — a historic heat wave.

• Citing the Colorado Climate Center again, large parts of Colorado had more than seven days with high temperatures warmer than any March temperature from 1951-2025. That’s a whole week’s worth of days that were warmer than any March day in the last 75 years.
• Comparing those temperatures to records since 1951, most of the Front Range saw warmer temperatures than any March or even April day in more than 70 years.
• And focusing on Denver Water again, the town of Dillon, where Denver Water’s largest supply reservoir is located, recorded its seventh hottest March temperatures ever. They beat the previous highs by 8 degrees. These records go back to 1910.

In summary, Denver Water was already looking at drought conditions based on the lack of snow during the winter. Then, during what is traditionally the snowiest month of the year for Colorado, we experienced record heat. 

Right when we should have been accumulating snowpack, we were watching it melt — much earlier than it should.

Stay up to date on Denver Water’s drought restrictions and charges, at denverwater.org/SummerWateringRules. 

The date when Denver Water’s snowpack peaks is typically late April. 

Instead, this year we saw our snow water equivalency drop considerably well before April. Normally we don’t see snowpack melt this quickly until May, so to observe this trend so early in the season is highly concerning.

You might even say dire or disastrous.

“South Platte snowpack has nearly melted out when it should be peaking — we are 10 to 12 feet of snow short of where we should be,” said Nathan Elder, Denver Water’s manager of water supply. “So, it’s time to turn our attention to preserving what we have.”

That’s why Denver Water made a Stage 1 drought declaration on March 25. There are several things our customers should focus on:

• Denver Water needs a 20% reduction in each customer’s water use. This includes outdoor and indoor use. For indoor use, think about reducing the number of washing machine and dishwasher loads and taking shorter showers.
• Customers should not start their outdoor irrigation systems until mid-to-late May. Occasional hand-watering may be necessary for trees and shrubs during this time.
• Once customers begin outdoor irrigation, single-family residential properties may water no more than two days per week and must follow a set schedule:
  • Addresses ending in even numbers: Sunday and Thursday.
  • Addresses ending in odd numbers: Wednesday and Saturday.
  • All others, including multifamily and commercial: Tuesday and Friday.
  • Note: Before reporting water waste at parks, schools or golf courses, know that some large public landscapes are reducing water use by 20% by operating under a Denver Water-approved water budget that allows flexibility in the days and times they are allowed to water. 
• In addition, customers must follow Denver Water’s annual summer watering rules.

Hopefully, this information shows why we are not overreacting to the current conditions. This type of response is critical to maintaining a reliable water supply for our customers, even in historic drought conditions.

Denver Water always has to prepare for multiyear droughts. But this is certainly one case where we are all hoping history does not, in fact, repeat itself.