Mountain snowmelt is a critical part of supplying water to the Front Range urban communities, but the rain that falls right in our backyard also helps. Especially in the Cottonwood water district along south Cherry Creek. "For several years, until June of last year, we were essentially in a chronic drought condition," said Luis Tovar. He said 2023 was the wettest year for the Cottonwood water district since it was established in 1981. Most of it was heavy rainfall from May through July. The official measurement at the nearby Centennial Airport recorded more than 24 inches of precipitation in 2023. Nearly double the annual average and the most in its 25-year record. Tovar said a lot of that water soaked right into the ground where the utility taps in. A layer of earth 10 to 60 feet below the surface called the Cherry Creek Alluvium. "Think of it as a sponge, and in a good year your able to fully saturate that feature," said Tovar.