{"id":23381,"date":"2019-05-09T15:52:00","date_gmt":"2019-05-09T21:52:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/news\/ask-eartha-drought-still-a-concern-despite-snowpack\/"},"modified":"2019-05-09T15:52:00","modified_gmt":"2019-05-09T21:52:00","slug":"ask-eartha-drought-still-a-concern-despite-snowpack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kift\/local-news\/ask-eartha-drought-still-a-concern-despite-snowpack\/","title":{"rendered":"Ask Eartha: Drought still a concern despite snowpack"},"content":{"rendered":"
Water flows into Giberson Bay at below average shore levels Monday, July 16, 2018, at Lake Dillon near Frisco. While the strong winter season alleviated some concerns, proper water use is still vitally important.<\/strong>
Hugh Carey \/ hcarey@summitdaily.com<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dear Eartha,<\/p>\n

With all our big spring storms, do I need to be concerned about drought this year?<\/p>\n

\u2014 Lindsey, Dillon Valley<\/p>\n

Great question, Lindsey. I sure had a fun ski season, and I hope you did, too. Now that our minds are shifting to big whitewater, it can be tough to look any further than our current situation \u2014 I applaud you for looking ahead!<\/p>\n

The short answer to your questions is, \u201cYES!\u201d<\/p>\n

Current drought conditions<\/p>\n

While the US Drought Monitor currently shows no drought in Summit County, parts of Park County are still considered abnormally dry. Even with all the recent snow, some of our neighbors to the south still haven\u2019t recovered from last summer\u2019s drought. Summit County saw its first fire of the season a few weekends ago in Silverthorne. Although small and quickly extinguished, it was a strong indicator of just how quickly conditions can change.<\/p>\n

The reality is that we need to shift how we think about drought. A recent study found that river flows in the Upper Colorado River Basin \u2014 which Summit County is part of \u2014 declined 16.5% between 1916 and 2014. And that\u2019s even with a slight increase in precipitation. The culprit? Higher temperatures caused by \u2014 you guessed it \u2014 climate change.<\/p>\n

Climate change impacts peak runoff, evaporation and soil absorption, all of which complicate overall water availability. With Colorado being one of the fastest-warming states in the country, and our community sitting at the heart of the West\u2019s mightiest river \u2014 we always need to be mindful of how we\u2019re using our water.<\/p>\n

Preventative maintenance<\/p>\n

Our community is amazingly proactive when it comes to wildfire. The Summit County chipping program is one example. And fuel breaks saved neighborhoods in last summer\u2019s Buffalo Mountain Fire.<\/p>\n

So, how can we be equally proactive about our water use? Don\u2019t worry, I won\u2019t ask you to shower with a bucket. Instead, consider a WaterSense showerhead. WaterSense is an Environmental Protection Agency program that works with a third party to certify things like showerheads, toilets and faucet accessories. To earn the WaterSense label, products must meet both efficiency and performance standards.<\/p>\n

The key here is performance. WaterSense products must perform as well as or better than their more wasteful counterparts. That means you won\u2019t have to sacrifice a satisfying shower to save water. With the average American spending 8.2 minutes in the shower, a new showerhead alone could save a family of four 12,000 gallons a year. That\u2019s more than a month\u2019s supply!<\/p>\n

Want to take your efforts up a notch? Look beyond the showerhead and the savings can really add up. To help Summit County residents become more water savvy, High Country Conservation Center (HC3) is now offering Tame the Tap, a free program that includes check-ups on your fixtures as well as installation of WaterSense products. Their staff will test your toilets, faucets and showerheads, and help you understand your current water use. And you\u2019ll start saving water immediately \u2014 the WaterSense products installed by HC3 can save a family of four an average of 25,000 gallons of water each year. If you choose to take a bigger step \u2014 say, purchasing a new toilet or water-efficient appliance \u2014 there are rebates available to help with costs.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t get caught overwatering<\/p>\n

While many of us still have snow around our homes, yards are beginning to peek out across the county. Soon, homeowners will be thinking about keeping their grass green. But just like a car, your sprinklers need an occasional check-up to make sure they\u2019re watering your lawn as efficiently as possible.<\/p>\n

As much as 50% of the water we use outdoors is lost to wind, evaporation, and runoff caused by inefficient irrigation. To curb that kind of loss here in Summit County, the towns of Breckenridge, Dillon, Frisco and Silverthorne have partnered with the organization Resource Central to offer free sprinkler checks for their residents.<\/p>\n

The program, called Slow the Flow, includes a 90-minute visit to check your irrigation system\u2019s efficiency, run a few tests and diagnose any problems the system might have. It\u2019s an easy way to keep your lawn healthy while potentially saving thousands of gallons each year. To learn more about both water efficiency programs, visit HighCountryConservation.org\/water.<\/p>\n

Lindsey, you may recall that Summit County was in extreme drought just last year. Instead of waiting for the next one, which could be around the corner, let\u2019s start working together now to protect our precious water resources.<\/p>\n

Ask Eartha Steward is written by the staff at the High Country Conservation Center, a nonprofit organization dedicated to waste reduction and resource conservation. Submit questions to Eartha at info@highcountryconservation.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

via:: Summit Daily<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Water flows into Giberson Bay at below average shore levels Monday, July 16, 2018, at Lake Dillon near Frisco. While the strong winter season alleviated some concerns, proper water use is still vitally important.Hugh Carey \/ hcarey@summitdaily.com Dear Eartha, With all our big spring storms, do I need to be concerned about drought this year? […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[97],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-23381","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-10 18:53:35","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KIFT - The LIFT FM","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kift","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kift\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23381","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kift\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kift\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kift\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kift\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23381"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kift\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23381\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kift\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23381"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kift\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23381"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kift\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23381"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}