Residents and anglers can expect to see high flows in the Fryingpan River in the month of August as water managers increase releases out of Ruedi Reservoir in an attempt to relieve the worst drought conditions downstream.
The Colorado Water Trust plans to begin releasing from a 4,700-acre-foot pool it leases in Ruedi on Monday. The Glenwood Springs-based Colorado River Water Conservation District also plans to begin releases from its 10,500-acre-foot Ruedi pool next week. Flows in the Fryingpan River are expected to typically be between 300 and 500 cfs while the releases are happening, though they could climb higher. It’s unclear how long the increased releases will last; it will depend on weather and precipitation over the coming weeks.
Water managers say flooding on the Fryingpan begins to be a concern around 800 cfs; River District officials say water managers will aim to keep the river below 700 cfs.
“We do not want to cause any flooding; we are very aware of that,” said Brendon Langenhuizen, director of technical advocacy for the River District.
Langenhuizen laid out details of the planned releases at a remote Zoom meeting of local leaders and water managers on Wednesday.
Although flooding may not happen until 800 cfs, impacts to the Fryingpan’s famous Gold Medal trout fishery happen long before that. Anglers generally like flows to remain below 300 cfs, the level at which wading becomes difficult and potentially dangerous.
Aspen Mayor Rachel Richards noted the dire conditions downstream, but asked if flows could be kept in the 300 to 350 cfs range when possible.
“Additionally, it’s more about the warning to fishermen if the water releases are changing rapidly,” Richards said. “I think the notification on the Fryingpan is what’s really critical here.”
Rick Lofaro, executive director of the Basalt-based Roaring Fork Conservancy, said his organization has already started getting the word out.
“There is an organization called the Roaring Fork Fishing Guide Alliance, and we are in lockstep with them,” Lofaro said. “We have already started to alert people to these increased flows, and the fishing community will be notified by the Roaring Fork Conservancy, along with the greater community.”
As of Wednesday, Ruedi was about 65% full. Tim Miller, a hydrologist with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, noted that this year’s reservoir operations are pacing about 10 days ahead of 2002, which was another year where drought conditions increased releases and lowered water levels at the reservoir. When asked by a U.S. Forest Service representative about when the water level would become too low for the boat ramp to operate, Miller said exactly when is unclear but that it would happen in the next month.
The Ruedi releases are aimed at alleviating the impacts of the worst snow-drought on record in the upper Colorado River basin, which are being felt on local waterways, as well as farther downstream. Pitkin County has issued a mandatory closure of the Roaring Fork River through the North Star Nature Preserve – a popular stretch for paddleboards and kayaks – because of unprecedented low flows. And Colorado Parks and Wildlife has issued voluntary fishing closures on portions of the Roaring Fork, Crystal and Colorado rivers due to low flows and high water temperatures.
The effects of drought are also being felt in the Grand Valley, one of the big agricultural hubs on the Western Slope with some of the most senior water rights on the Colorado River. The water from Ruedi will flow down to be used by irrigators in this area, who are currently about 500 cfs short of the water they need, according to Langenhuizen.
“This has been a tough year for a lot of people from the bottom of the basin all the way to the top, and a lot of people have been pitching in to help us get through and share resources,” he said. “Everybody’s kind of taking a hit this year.”
The River District’s Ruedi releases are part of its 2026 drought response plan. They are meant to cushion the blow of shortages in a pool of water in Green Mountain Reservoir known as the Historic Users Pool. HUP water is released mainly to satisfy farmers and ranchers in the Grand Valley, whose group of senior water rights — known as the Cameo call — are the commanding force on the river.
When Cameo places a call for its water, it can force junior users all the way up to the headwaters to shut off. The HUP also protects other water users, known as HUP beneficiaries, because without the releases from Green Mountain, Cameo would place more frequent calls, forcing these users to cut back.
However, this year, the HUP did not fill, causing repercussions up and down the river.
“This is really driven because we don’t have HUP coverage, which has an impact on a lot of users in the Colorado River basin, both municipal and irrigators,” Langenhuizen told Aspen Journalism in a separate interview. “We really tried to look at this as wholesale, like how can we help as many people in the Colorado River basin as possible?”
Depending on water demands, the 4,700 acre-feet from the Water Trust could be used by irrigators in the Grand Valley, or it could be used for hydropower generation in the Grand Valley and then flow into the 15-mile reach, a chronically water-short stretch of the Colorado River that is critical habitat for endangered fish.
