Upstream rivers running above normal
Local streams are flowing at 77-242% of normal in the Roaring Fork watershed as of March 24, while the Colorado River is running at 73% of average at Dotsero and 64% near the Colorado-Utah stateline.
At Stillwater, located upstream of Aspen, the Roaring Fork River ran at 39.5 cfs on March 24, or 141% of average. Last year, the Fork ran at 20.3 cfs on March 24 at Stillwater.
Diversions through the Twin Lakes Tunnel have reduced the Fork’s flows at Stillwater. Water diverted through the tunnel, which sends Roaring Fork flows east of the Continental Divide, ran at 30.9 cfs on March 24.
The USGS sensor below Maroon Creek recorded the Fork running at 124 cfs on March 24, or 148% of average. The river flowed at 77% 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 242% of average on March 24, or 201 cfs.
The Colorado River ran at 1,460 cfs at Glenwood Springs, or 82% of average, on March 24, up from last year’s 1.410 cfs, while the Colorado flowed at 2,490 cfs near the Colorado-Utah stateline, or 64% of average.
