… Denver Water spokesperson Todd Hartman said via email that the agency will use a portion of its cash reserves to offset the lower water sales and other costs associated with the drought. It has also taken steps to reduce other costs, such as leaving job vacancies open longer. Colorado experienced record-low mountain snows this year and a scorching hot spring, which has the thin snowpack melting sooner than normal. Reservoir storage is stable for this year, at roughly 80% of average across the state. But heavy water use could drain those reservoirs too quickly, potentially causing major shortages next year if this winter is as dry as last winter’s was, officials have said. To protect reservoir storage, cities want customers to reduce water use by 10% to 20%. They’re hoping surcharges will help them reach those goals.

Other water supply and drought news around the West:

• The Colorado Sun (Denver): Colorado snowpack at shocking, historic lows
• KSL (Salt Lake City, Utah): Utah’s drought makes ‘rare’ leap to the extreme, as its record-low snowpack melts
• Summit Daily (Colo.): As Colorado faces historically bad snowpack, a new study links low snow with more severe wildfires that damage forests
• NBC9 (Denver, Colo.): Record low snowpack confirmed by airborne lasers