The Bane and Boon of Southwest Flooding

“Absolutely devastating,” Archuleta County Sheriff Mike Le Roux told The Colorado Sun of the floods that have torn through southwest Colorado in recent weeks. “We have not, in this county, in our time, witnessed anything as big as this act of Mother Nature.”

Martin Hoerling is a climate scientist and hydrologist at the University of Colorado Boulder. He has a different view. “That’s somewhat of an unexpected boost from Mother Nature,” he told The Associated Press (AP). 

Both views hold merit. Since late September, massive rain storms have brought floods and evacuations across the Southwest. But much of that water is now flowing into states’ depleted lakes and underground aquifers. The rains have been fueled by El Niño. It's a warming of Pacific Ocean waters that happens every 2 to 7 years. When it happens, it reshapes weather worldwide.

The region needs the rain. Years of drought have drained its reservoirs. Lake Powell sank to its lowest level on record in mid-September. It's the second-largest reservoir in the US. It has since risen more than 20 feet. Even with the surge in water, it remains just over a quarter full.

Local supplies got a lift as well. In Flagstaff, Arizona, a single weekend of storms added the equivalent of more than two years of water to the city’s surface supply. In Pagosa Springs, Colorado, water restrictions on more than 10,000 people have been lifted. 

“While the storm was destructive, I think there is a silver lining,” Pagosa Springs town manager David Harris told the AP.

Still, experts warn that the region still needs more water. It remains in drought. Melting mountain snow, not rain, usually gives the reservoirs’ biggest boost each year. Federal water managers are unlikely to change how much water they release from Lake Powell until winter snowpack peaks. That's usually around April. 

“We need to figure out how to be resilient in a drier future. And we’re not quite there yet,” Hoerling said.    

Reflect: What is one small change you could make to use resources like water more wisely?