YourYampaRiver.org hopes to help river users better access and understand data about the Yampa River.
A new dashboard developed through a partnership with local water agencies and advocates brings together a wide variety of data points about the Yampa River into one place at YourYampaRiver.org.
The Yampa River Dashboard includes many of the expected data points, like the water temperature or streamflow levels at various points of the Yampa. But it also allows users to compare variables with one another, seeing trends like the relationship between snow depth and spring runoff for themselves.
“We’re hoping that it will be a great tool for the public and water quality data nerds to use,” said Emily Lowell, district engineer with the Upper Yampa Water Conservancy District, at a presentation about the new site to the Routt County Commissioners on Monday.
The project was funded with a grant from the Colorado Water Conservation Board’s Water Supply Reserve Fund. Local groups like the Upper Yampa District, City of Steamboat Springs, Colorado Water Trust and Friends of the Yampa also made cash and in-kind contributions to the project.
The dashboard pulls data in from 10 different organizations, from the U.S. Geological survey to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
“You could spend hours if you are interested in water and climate data,” Lowell said. “It’s meant to be really interactive so you can really drill into whatever you want to look at.”
Lowell suggested a good first step for anyone visiting the site is to look at the map view, showing where various points of data are being collected from. The map includes water quality data, allowing users to toggle through various parameters such as the levels of nitrogen of phosphorous in the river at various places.
“It’s really cool to see all of this stuff in one space,” said Commissioner Tim Corrigan. “Rather than chasing around to different data sources, which most of us don’t have the patience to do.”
