Difference between revisions of "Hydrology"

Upper Colorado Region Homepage

USBR Weekly Water Reports

• Upper Colorado Region Weekly Hydrology Summary

1. Reservoir inflows (forecast and observed)
2. Reservoir releases
3. SNOTEL

• Lower Colorado Water Supply Report

1. Water use

• Lower Colorado River Water Accounting
• Colorado River Basin Tea-Cup Diagrams

USBR Monthly/Annual Reports

• 24-Month Study
• Monthly Summaries
• Annual Operating Plans for Colorado River reservoirs

Snow Pack Reports

• Upper Colorado River Basin Snotel Tracking
• Upper Colorado Region Snow Pack Conditions Map
• Bureau of Reclamation- Snow Pack Report
• SNOWTEL Report
  • The snowtel report is a calculating report, and takes approximately 3 minutes to run.
  • Select the report under "Public", listed as "Colorado River above Lake Powell" (116 snowtel sites).
  • Data source is updated at least daily.

U.S. Drought Monitor

• U.S. Drought Monitor
• Tree Flow Data

Inflow Volumes to Lake Powell and Release Volumes from Glen Canyon Dam

Upper Colorado River Basin regularly experiences significant year to year hydrologic variability. During the 21-year period 2000 to 2020, however, the unregulated inflow to Lake Powell, which is a good measure of hydrologic conditions in the Colorado River Basin, was above average in only 4 out of the past 19 years. The period 2000-2020 is the lowest 21-year period since the closure of Glen Canyon Dam in 1963, with an average unregulated inflow of 8.62 maf, or 80 percent of the 30-year average (1981-2010). (For comparison, the 1981-2010 total water year average is 10.83 maf.) The unregulated inflow during the 2000-2020 period has ranged from a low of 2.64 maf (24 percent of average) in water year 2002 to a high of 15.97 maf (147 percent of average) in water year 2011. [2]

Inflow and Release Volumes