OUR FROZEN WATER SUPPLY

At the January 12th SLCWD water board meeting, someone mentioned that the Serene Lakes' ice was four feet thick. Many expressed disbelief, saying the ice could only be that thick up north in the tundra. Guess again! Not only is the ice that thick, but it is so thick that it freezes the channel between Lake Serena and Lake Dulzura and freezes the channel leading up to the dam on Serena Creek. This has been confirmed by employees of the water district that have drilled test holes in the ice at various locations, including the channel between the lakes and the channel at the dam. There's little wonder as to why our lakes were originally called Ice Lakes.

If the channel between the lakes, which is 4.5 feet deep, is frozen, then the ice is at least 4.5 feet deep. The top of the water intake is 7 feet deep, so there is only 2.5 feet of water between the top of the intake and the bottom of the ice. Looking at the bathymetry data from Andregg Geomatics, the amount of water in that 2.5 feet is only about 50 acre-feet (AF).

Now it could be that the ice is thinner near the middle of the lake than in the channel. If this is true, then there could be another foot of water in the middle, which would provide another 25 AF of usable water.

This gives a maximum of 75 AF of water that can used during the frozen months of December, January, February and March. Current SLCWD usage during those months is 36 AF, leaving a reserve of 39 AF of water.

This reserve doesn't leave much for Royal Gorge, who plans  to consume 48 AF of water per month. With 39 AF to work with, maybe they'll be able to squeak by in December. What will they do in January- close for the season?

Or, do I detect a devious Royal Gorge plot: Sponsor an annual New Years day celebration bonfire in the middle of Lake Serena?

-Joseph Gray