Fall 2025 CASM Stakeholder Update
Hello CASM stakeholders,
It has been another great year for the Colorado Airborne Snow Measurement (CASM) program! Thanks to the continued partnership and support from the Colorado Water Conservation Board and more than 30 state, federal, and local agencies, the program continues to grow and deliver high-value snowpack and streamflow information across the state.
Stakeholder Meeting – February 2026
Please save Tues, Feb 24th - 1-3pm for the CASM Stakeholder Meeting, which will be held virtually. The session will include updates on:
2026 flight plans and modeling output
CWCB Water Supply Measurement and Forecasting Program updates
Case studies from Colorado water providers
Future funding and program coordination
A calendar invitation and agenda will be distributed soon.
CWCB: Water Supply Measurement & Forecasting Program
In 2025, the Colorado legislature formally recognized the importance of coordinated snowpack and water supply data collection by passing House Bill 25-1115, which established the Water Supply Measurement & Forecasting Program within the Colorado Water Conservation Board. This new program builds directly on the foundation established by the CASM program and its stakeholder partners since 2020 with this mission:
Assist Colorado’s water users to obtain and use the best available data for snowpack, streamflow forecasts, and flood hazard mapping.
Erik Skeie has been hired at CWCB to lead the new program. His leadership will help ensure that the program continues to serve Colorado’s diverse water management community by expanding on CASM’s success in improving data access, coordination, and decision-support across the state.
As the state program takes shape, CWCB and its partners are exploring several new directions, including:
Establishing a Research and Development Committee to evaluate emerging technologies and prioritize future investments in measurement and modeling.
Advancing the use of airborne lidar and other remote sensing tools to support both snowpack measurement and flood hazard mapping, and to ensure future collections meet the accuracy and specification needs for multiple applications.
Continuing to engage with CASM’s broad stakeholder community, which includes more than 100 agencies, utilities, researchers, and private organizations, to ensure that Colorado’s forecasting efforts reflect the needs of all water users.
These steps represent an exciting evolution of the CASM program and a commitment to providing Colorado water managers with the best available science and innovations in snowpack measurement and water supply forecasting.
2025–2026 Snow Season Planning
As we move into the next water year, snow-on surveys are now possible for more than half of Colorado’s mountain headwater basins, covering both East and West Slope watersheds. The CASM team, in partnership with ASO Inc. and other data providers, is actively coordinating the 2026 survey season.
Snow survey and forecast coverage, as well as other planned activities can be found here on the CASM website.
Flight operations are anticipated to occur between mid-March and mid-June 2026, depending on snowpack conditions and stakeholder needs.
The Flight Coordination Committee will meet weekly from February through June to plan flight logistics, prioritize basins, and share early data releases. To participate, please reach out to erik.skeie@state.co.us.
During the 2026 season, ASO data will continue to be integrated into various streamflow forecast products including ASO’s WRF-Hydro model and others, providing improved early-season accuracy and confidence for water managers.
CASM Case Studies and Applications
CASM continues to highlight Colorado-specific applications of ASO data to water resources management, including:
These and other case studies are featured on the CASM website. If your agency has used ASO data in its operations or planning, we would love to feature your work, please reach out to the Planning Team to share your results.
Continued Support and Collaboration
The success of CASM relies on the collaboration of its partners statewide. Over $3.4 million in surveys and forecasts were supported last year, with more than $1 million contributed by local water providers and conservancy districts. This level of investment has enabled steady expansion of ASO coverage, improved modeling, and greater statewide benefit. The 2025 CASM Activities Memo summarizes these efforts.
As the record of ASO observations continues to grow, the resulting dataset offers an unprecedented view into how snow accumulates and melts across wet and dry years. This information is already transforming how Colorado water managers forecast runoff and make operational decisions.
Thank you for your continued engagement and commitment to improving Colorado’s snow and water data infrastructure.
Best regards,
The CASM Planning Team
www.coloradosnow.org
Colorado Water Conservation Board
