How Long Will The Influx Last? (Denver, Colorado Springs: job market, construction, casino)

[lurtsman]

I think the ease of access to information (like weather reports) that stems from the internet leads to more people moving to the desirable locations. Over the last few decades the entire sunbelt has been growing, though I think the technology that drives that decision is the presence of affordable air conditioning. When heating was common and A/C was not, it made more sense to be farther North. Now people move to the South because they can cool their house off easily so the hottest summer months aren't so difficult.

Is water an issue in our future? Sure. However, it would be foolish to pick Boston or Philly over Denver based simply on the water issues.

[Lugnuts]

Originally Posted by robertgoodman

Of course at some point we will hit a wall where we cannot conserve any more water to facilitate growth, but I think people will be surprised at how much further we can stretch the water we do get even during dry years. I think when the Front Range hits that conservation wall decades down the road ...

Agree with most of your post but strongly disagree with this ^^. Population growth rates tend to be logarithmic. Rapidly increasing population combined with dwindling water resources will guarantee a crisis. It may already be here. It sure is for the ranchers and farmers.

[Colorado Rambler]

Originally Posted by Lugnuts

Agree with most of your post but strongly disagree with this ^^. Population growth rates tend to be logarithmic. Rapidly increasing population combined with dwindling water resources will guarantee a crisis. It may already be here. It sure is for the ranchers and farmers.

Thank you. Notice how much more aware of the water problem rural Coloradans are? People who live in Denver can't see beyond the asphalt on Colfax Avenue. They live indoors and might get out for the occasional ski trip to Vail or Breckenridge with their artificial snow and carefully groomed slopes. They don't have that same sense of place that rural Coloradans do which means they can't see the on-coming environmental train wreck.

It's really too bad.

[robertgoodman]

Originally Posted by Colorado Rambler

Thank you. Notice how much more aware of the water problem rural Coloradans are? People who live in Denver can't see beyond the asphalt on Colfax Avenue. They live indoors and might get out for the occasional ski trip to Vail or Breckenridge with their artificial snow and carefully groomed slopes. They don't have that same sense of place that rural Coloradans do which means they can't see the on-coming environmental train wreck.

It's really too bad.

Oh please. I have lived in rural Colorado as well so you can drop the holier than though, salt of the earth, we know more than the city folk act. I thought it was BS when I lived in rural areas and I still do.

The major difference is water diversification so cities can better withstand droughts. Rural areas if one tributary of a river has bad snow-pack it tends to hit them harder. Also a bad water/snow year makes rural folk panic more since a larger percentage of people have their livelihoods tied to it.

[brown_dog_us]

Originally Posted by Lugnuts

Disagree. I can see Mt Princeton as I write this and it is bare and I mean BARE. What good are water rights when the aquifers are empty? I would argue that it's already happening and that's why water restrictions are already occuring. Water stress will only get worse as people move to Denver for jobs and the population continues to grow. I really don't think it will limit growth. Policy makers can only think in terms of money and they want to grow the city and economy and that means more development. Still think Denver is a good choice if the OP is moving to CO, just be prepared for water shortages in the future and adapt.

The City of Denver (not the entire metro) gets most of it's water from the Gross Reservoir. It is able to handle the current demand, but will not be adequate in 2030. Denver is currently in the planning stage to add another 125 feet to the Gross Reservoir.

It is very unlikely Denver will run out of water in the next 50 years.

Now the rest of the state is another story. Douglas County is probably the most vulnerable to a water crisis.

As someone mentioned earlier, I think the places with good water supplies are going to see big property gains in the next 15 years.

[Colorado Rambler]

Originally Posted by robertgoodman

Oh please. I have lived in rural Colorado as well so you can drop the holier than though, salt of the earth, we know more than the city folk act. I thought it was BS when I lived in rural areas and I still do.

And I grew up in Colorado Springs and spent a significant part of my adult life living in either Denver or Colorado Springs. We have different opinions about our experience, and I'll leave it at that, except to note that I'm more of a tree hugger type than "salt of the earth."

The major difference is water diversification so cities can better withstand droughts. Rural areas if one tributary of a river has bad snow-pack it tends to hit them harder. Also a bad water/snow year makes rural folk panic more since a larger percentage of people have their livelihoods tied to it.

In a normal year, this statement might be correct, but it's been quite a while now since Colorado has seen "normal." The Colorado is low, the Dolores is low, and the San Miguel is becoming a trickle. Diversification would gain us nothing - especially given water compacts, etc.

Maybe the Arkansas and the South Platte, etc. are running at flood levels. I haven't been out that way recently, so I don't know. Even if the streams that feed the reservoirs of the Front Range cities are running full tilt now, they won't continue to do so - probably sooner rather than later. The drought and the warming trend are going to be facts of life for the foreseeable future.

Climate change is real and whether it's manmade or natural has become a bit of a moot point. The reality is that it's here and it's not going away.

Here's a map from NOAA of current drought conditions in the US. Take a look at Colorado.

[davebarnes]

Originally Posted by brown_dog_us

The City of Denver (not the entire metro) gets most of it's water from the Gross Reservoir.

Gross - Capacity: 41,811 acre feet
Dillon - Capacity: 257,304 acre feet
Williams Fork - Capacity: 96,822 acre feet
Cheesman - Capacity: 79,064 acre feet

[brown_dog_us]

Originally Posted by davebarnes

Gross - Capacity: 41,811 acre feet
Dillon - Capacity: 257,304 acre feet
Williams Fork - Capacity: 96,822 acre feet
Cheesman - Capacity: 79,064 acre feet

Thanks! They have even more water.

[SkyDog77]

Originally Posted by davebarnes

Gross - Capacity: 41,811 acre feet
Dillon - Capacity: 257,304 acre feet
Williams Fork - Capacity: 96,822 acre feet
Cheesman - Capacity: 79,064 acre feet

Antero - 19,881
Eleven Mile - 97,779
Strontia Springs - 7,863
Marston - 19,796

Ralston - 10,776

And part of Chatfield

[robertgoodman]

Originally Posted by Colorado Rambler

In a normal year, this statement might be correct, but it's been quite a while now since Colorado has seen "normal." The Colorado is low, the Dolores is low, and the San Miguel is becoming a trickle. Diversification would gain us nothing - especially given water compacts, etc.

Maybe the Arkansas and the South Platte, etc. are running at flood levels. I haven't been out that way recently, so I don't know. Even if the streams that feed the reservoirs of the Front Range cities are running full tilt now, they won't continue to do so - probably sooner rather than later. The drought and the warming trend are going to be facts of life for the foreseeable future.

Climate change is real and whether it's manmade or natural has become a bit of a moot point. The reality is that it's here and it's not going away.

Here's a of current drought conditions in the US. Take a look at Colorado.

This spring Denver's watersheds snowpack hit 95% of average. 2012's spring snowpack was bad for Denver's watersheds so being slightly below normal this year did not fully refill the reservoirs, but the year before that in spring of 2011 our reservoirs were overflowing.

The NOAA classifies Denver as D1 basically because reservoir levels are lower than normal (primarely because of 2012). But around Durango and Cortez it's D3 and it's D4 in SE Colorado so it's understandable the doom and gloom coming out of there.

Yes climate change is real, but how it impacts drought conditions in various parts of the country to my knowledge has not achieved consensus within the scientific community.