The blizzard has helped Southern Colorado's water situation for the summer. But it's not enough to ease water restrictions in Colorado Springs.

"We're very pleased to see this snow. It's been very beneficial to certainly replenishing soil moisture here in town, and also has added a lot of snow pack to our water shed." Kevin Lusk is a senior project engineer for Colorado Springs Utilities. It's his job to keep track of how much snow pack is available for water this summer. And he says the March Blizzard did help our situation.

"This last storm has brought us up to near normal. Some areas are just below normal and some are just above but within 5 percent of normal right now," Lusk says.

But in an effort to get a head start on water savings and refill our reservoirs, Colorado Springs Utilities will not recommend a change in water restrictions. "We still are recommending Stage Two Level B, which is two-day-a week watering," Lusk says. That schedule is set to begin in mid-April.

That's because the levels in the reservoirs are so low. "Overall, our reservoirs are at 44 percent of capacity. Normally for this time of year, they're in the 65-70 percent range." And Lusk says, its going to take a while to fill them up. "It was about a 3-4 year drought that got us to this point. It's gonna take 3-4 years of average weather to get us out."

For information on Colorado Springs Utilities' watering schedules: CSU web site