Overview
- Officials cite the warmest start to a water year in 131 years and snow water equivalent among the lowest in more than four decades.
- Roughly one-third of the state is in severe drought or worse, with extreme conditions persisting in parts of the Colorado River headwaters.
- The task force convenes senior leaders from Natural Resources, Agriculture, Local Affairs, and Homeland Security and Emergency Management.
- The Colorado Water Conservation Board will track snowpack, precipitation, temperature, streamflow, soil moisture, and reservoir storage.
- If conditions worsen, the state could move to Phase 3, prompting an official drought declaration and potential water restrictions; the task force was last activated in 2020 during a major wildfire year.