Rivers running well below normal
Local streams are flowing at 25-45% of normal in the Roaring Fork watershed as of May 31, while the Colorado River is running at 19% of average at Dotsero and 22% near the Colorado-Utah stateline.
At Stillwater, located upstream of Aspen, the Roaring Fork River ran at 78.6 cfs on May 31, or 25% of average. Last year, the Fork ran at 227 cfs on May 31 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 135 cfs on May 31.
The USGS sensor below Maroon Creek recorded the Fork running at 362 cfs on May 31, or 45% of average. The river flowed at 38% 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 53% of average on May 31, or 597 cfs.
The Colorado River ran at 2,740 cfs at Glenwood Springs, or 28% of average, on May 31, up from last year’s 5,370 cfs, while the Colorado flowed at 3,990 cfs near the Colorado-Utah stateline, or 22% of average.
