Scott Condon/Aspen Times file
The dry, warm month of April prevented the snowpack from building and sunk the chances to fill Ruedi Reservoir this summer, according to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.
“It’s not good at all,” said Tim Miller, a. U.S. Bureau of Reclamation hydrologist who manages water levels at the reservoir. “We took a pretty good nosedive from April to May.”
The snowpack in the upper Fryingpan Valley was only about 60% of median as of May 1, he said. Forecasts are for runoff into the reservoir to be only about 55% of average.
Ruedi Reservoir is at about 60% full right now. It holds 102,000 acre-feet of water. It would need about 42,000 acre-feet to fill.