Dillon Reservoir Could Fill For The First Time In Years

FRISCO, Colo. (CBS4) - The mountain snow is melting and it looks like Colorado's white winter in the high country will bring good news for residents along the Front Range.

Denver Water thinks Dillon Reservoir will fill to capacity for the first time in years.

It was the end of March last year when Denver Water put in Stage 1 water restrictions as Lake Dillon was only 65 percent full. As on Monday it's at about 85 percent full and it's actually being drained to get ready for more melting snow, which will mean even more water.

"It's always a balancing act with our reservoirs across the state -- Dillon in particular. We want to ultimately keep it full so people can enjoy recreation on the reservoir, but we have to be really conscious too as to what happens below the reservoir," Stacy Chesney with Denver Water said.

With the snowpack well above average surrounding the largest reservoir that sends water to Denver, officials have been planning all winter to let some go.

"We've been proactively releasing water into the river below to create that room to help reduce any risk of flooding that could happen later in the season," Chesney said.

But officials from Denver Water are keeping an eye on the snowpack with the hope of having full reservoirs for the first time since July of 2011.

"At this point we do expect that our reservoirs will fill and we hope that customers will continue that wise water use and not overuse water and follow our watering rules which will start on May 1," Chesney said.

What many people in the high country are going to be watching is a layer of dust on the Western Slope that has sat on the snow for nearly a month. That, along with rain and warm temperatures over the last week, helped rush the melt over the past few days.

LINK: Denver Water