Rivers running well below normal
Local streams are flowing at 61-116% of normal in the Roaring Fork watershed as of Oct. 1, while the Colorado River is running at 48% of average at Dotsero and 62% near the Colorado-Utah stateline.
Despite recent rainfall, the Roaring Fork River watershed is still experiencing exceptional drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor’s Oct. 1 update.
At Stillwater, located upstream of Aspen, the Roaring Fork River ran at 26.9 cfs on Oct. 1, or 61% of average. Last year, the Fork ran at 36.5 cfs on Oct. 1 at Stillwater.
Diversions through the Twin Lakes Tunnel have reduced the Fork’s flows at Stillwater although the amount of water diverted through the tunnel, which sends Roaring Fork flows east of the Continental Divide, has slowly decreased since mid-June.
The USGS sensor below Maroon Creek recorded the Fork running at 144 cfs on Oct. 1, or 116% of average. The river flowed at 66% of average near Emma, below the confluence with the dam-controlled Fryingpan.
Meanwhile, the Crystal River above Avalanche Creek, which is not impacted by dams or transbasin diversions, flowed at 85% of average on Oct. 1, or 89.9 cfs.
The Colorado River ran at 1,210 cfs at Glenwood Springs, or 57% of average, on Oct. 1, down from last year’s 1,820 cfs, while the Colorado flowed at 2,380 cfs near the Colorado-Utah stateline, or 62% of average.
