Colorado Drought Task Force Urges Phase Three Emergency for Gov. Polis

“Moving to phase three and declaring a drought emergency is something we should do as soon as possible.”

Nate Pearson didn’t mince words. The assistant director for water policy at the Colorado Department of Natural Resources was speaking to neighbors and officials gathered in Winter Park. He wasn’t asking for a committee review. He was demanding action.

The Colorado Drought Task Force wants Gov. Jared Polis to issue an emergency proclamation. The goal is simple: unlock state coffers to help a state already buckling under the weight of a historically bad winter. That winter ended a month early. Now, the financial strain is real. Business decisions are getting tougher. The environment is overstressed.

The task force recommended Monday moving into phase three — the highest level — of the state’s drought response plan. This isn’t just paperwork. It allows the state to tap more resources. It opens the door to seeking a presidential declaration. Pearson urged the group to look beyond the bare minimum. He wants recommendations that will have positive impacts now. Not next year. Now.

Polis activated this task force, a coalition of water experts and officials from water-related state agencies, on March 16. He also activated phase two of the drought response plan then. This isn’t the first time the state has done this. The task force launched in April 2002, May 2011, May 2018, and June 2020. History repeats itself. The water doesn’t.

The officials gathered for their third meeting in the Winter Park area to hear updates. They listened to reports on fisheries. They discussed water providers. They weighed wildfire risk. The air in the room was thick with the reality of what’s happening outside.

Russ Schumacher, the Colorado state climatologist, laid out the data. It’s stark. The snowpack is almost gone. It was record-low this winter. Schumacher tracked the snowmelt into the state’s rivers. Normally, those rivers peak in early June. This year, some have already peaked. Flows are extremely low in nearly all basins.

The numbers don’t just show a bad year. They show a broken pattern. The Arkansas River, as it passes through Salida in southern Colorado, is running below 2002 levels. 2002 was another extremely poor water year. If it’s worse than that, locals need to know.

The Rio Grande River near Del Norte peaked early. It stayed above 2002 levels. That’s a small mercy in a sea of dryness. But the White River at Meeker in northeastern Colorado is in “uncharted territory.” Schumacher said it was lower than any previous year in early May. Uncharted. That means no historical precedent to fall back on. No comfort in history.

Spring storms haven’t rejuvenated the parched landscapes. The snowmelt and the rain haven’t been enough. As of May 26, about 94% of the state reported some level of drought. Just under 10% is experiencing exceptional drought, the most severe category tracked by the U.S. Drought Monitor.

That’s not a trend. That’s a crisis.

The short version is this: The water is gone. The snowpack has melted and vanished. The rivers are running dry or near-record lows. The state is asking for permission to spend money to fix it. Polis has the power to grant that permission. The question isn’t whether the drought exists. It’s whether the state will act fast enough to matter.

Pearson wants phase three. He wants an emergency proclamation. He wants to think beyond the minimum. The task force is ready. The data is clear. The only variable left is political will.

Read that again. 94% of the state is dry. And the White River is in uncharted territory. That’s not a forecast. That’s the current reality for anyone relying on that water. Whether it’s for cattle in Walden or fish in the Arkansas, the impact is immediate.

The task force met in Winter Park. They issued their recommendation. Now they wait. Waiting is a luxury the land can’t afford.