Irene Shonle, Director CSU Extension in Gilpin County.  Overall, snowpack in Colorado is great so far this year. As of February 24th, the South Platte River Basin (our watershed) is 107% of normal and the Arkansas is 103%. West slope river basins range from 95% to 107%.  This is great news to urban dwellers, to farmers and ranchers and to states downstream from us to whom we owe water, since that snow pack will soon be melting into water and rushing down the mountains in our streams and rivers.

Surprisingly, overall river basin snowpack means very little to us locally. The water we drink comes from wells (for most of us), not from reservoirs or large underground aquifers as it does in the flatlands. The production of those wells is entirely dependent on the precipitation that falls in our own yards. It’s very local.

Our wells gather water from melting snow and rain seeping into tiny cracks in the bedrock. The ground water held in these cracks is called a fractured rock aquifer and is only recharged by precipitation. Some of these cracks are as narrow as a human hair, and they are all connected to each other for water to be able to travel through them to your well. This ground water recharge system also explains the phenomenon of well water discoloration in the spring – when large quantities of water enter the fractured rock aquifer when the snow melts, sediments, nutrients and tannins can be carried along.  Shallower wells tend to see this more frequently -- even after a big rain -- whereas deeper wells see it only in the spring or not at all. It is a great idea to test your well water each year after the water clears up again from the spring runoff to make sure no bacteria has entered your well.  You can call Gilpin County Public Health (303-582-5803) to get your water tested.

Local moisture also has a big impact on the moisture content of trees and fire danger. The more moisture we get right in our own backyards, the less likely it is for conditions to be right for the forests to ignite. We have had relatively wet springs and summers the last couple of years, so fire danger has been relatively low. The wildflowers have been plentiful as well. We can hope for more of the same this year.

However, reflecting on this winter, we have not had very many big snows so far. For much of the winter, there have been big patches of bare ground. I have heard people who plow snow for a living complaining about their lack of trade this year. Other people have been happy to not have to pull out their snow shovels as often.  Whether El Niño will produce some heavy snows in March and April remains to be seen, but I, for one, would like to see some of that time-release moisture piling up in my back yard.

The CSU Gilpin County Extension Office is located at the Exhibit Barn, 230 Norton Drive, Black Hawk, CO 80422, 303-582-9106, www.extension.colostate.edu/gilpin. Colorado State University Extension provides unbiased, research-based information about, horticulture, natural resources, and 4-H youth development. Colorado State University Extension is dedicated to serving all people on an equal and nondiscriminatory basis.