Rio Grande Reads 0 cfs During Irrigation Season

The tracked Rio Grande gauge registered 0 cfs this week, the furthest below its 5-year median of any site in the digest, per USGS. Elephant Butte Reservoir holds 55,126 af, down 60% vs its 5-year median and off 23% on the week, per the US Bureau of Reclamation. Both figures reflect continued irrigation-season drawdown, which runs through September.

• Klamath County, OR: drought coverage at 88%, 57 pts above the 5-year median and up 2 pts on the week (US Drought Monitor). The largest drought-vs-normal gap in this week's digest.
• Wyoming and Colorado: 100% and 91% of area in drought, both 50 pts above their 5-year medians (US Drought Monitor). Colorado eased 2 pts on the week and Wyoming held flat.
• Blue Mesa Reservoir: 274,674 af, down 51% vs the 5-year median and off 5% on the week (Bureau of Reclamation). The Upper Colorado basin remains heavily depleted through midsummer.
• San Juan-Colorado: 1,060 cfs, 111% above the 5-year median, up 30% on the week (USGS). Late runoff above Blue Mesa is running well above average.
• Bear-Great Basin: 421 cfs, 173% above the 5-year median, up 7% on the week (USGS).
• Fresno and Kern counties, CA: both at 0% drought coverage, 38 and 52 pts below their respective 5-year medians (US Drought Monitor). The San Joaquin Valley is outside the current drought footprint.

Allocations (standing status): CVP north-of-Delta irrigation is at 100%, M&I north-of-Delta at 100%, Sacramento River Settlement contractors at 100%, American River M&I (Folsom) at 100% and In-Delta M&I at 100%, all announced by the Bureau of Reclamation on Feb. 26. The SWP statewide allocation stands at 45%, announced by DWR on May 1. No allocation changes this week.