Drought History

The graph below shows annual virgin (or native) flows of the Poudre River since 1884. Flows vary significantly from year to year. The green line on the graph denotes the long-term average.

graph of Cache la Poudre River annual virgin flows at mouth of Poudre Canyon

Significant Poudre River Droughts:

1930-1937 - runoff was 614,000 acre-feet below average (pop up definition of acre-feet here) and the average annual water shortage was 26%.
1953-1956 - runoff was 458,000 acre-feet below average and average annual shortage of 38%t. In 1954, flows were just 41% of average.
1975-1977 - cumulative deficit of 280,000 acre-feet and an average annual shortage of 31%.
2000-2005 (LAURA HERE-- IS THIS DROUGHT OFFICIALLY OVER? OR SHOULD WE WRITE 2000 - ????) - cumulative deficit of 547,000 acre-feet and an average annual shortage of 31%. The lowest flow in recorded history occured in 2002, when flows were 32% of average.

Water

Overview Water Supply and Demand Water Quality Conservation Drought