Water conditions during the holiday weekend

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KKCO) -We spoke to experts who say current water conditions on the Western Slope are starting to 'trend downwards." This is good news as the holiday weekend is here, and many will have plans to go out on the water. We asked why this may be the case.

Some of the water in our rivers comes from snow melting from the mountains, and since most of the snow has melted, there is less water moving down the rivers. These lower water levels do not necessarily mean safer rivers.

Julia Blanchette, part of our First Alert weather team, said, "...some rivers become more difficult even when the CFS is lower. And that's because some of the holes and rocks underneath actually become more visible they reach the surface quicker. So we end up having more problems that can vary depending on where you are on the river."

We asked locals what they thought about water conditions. Arielle Alvarado-Pond, a Grand Junction resident, told us, "There's nothing more fun than floating down the river with the kids and hanging out." Riley Buniger, a Palisade resident, said, "It's a hot day, and we wanted to do something for the 4th of July. We came out to the lazy river, and it is moving pretty fast, but the water is a good temperature for how hot it is outside."