Rivers running well below normal
Local streams are flowing at 11-23% of normal in the Roaring Fork watershed as of July 6, while the Colorado River is running at 36% of average at Dotsero and 20% near the Colorado-Utah stateline.
At Stillwater, located upstream of Aspen, the Roaring Fork River ran at 25.6 cfs on July 6, or 11% of average. Last year, the Fork ran at 108 cfs on July 6 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 139 cfs on July 6, or 18% of average. The river flowed at 23% 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 17% of average on July 6, or 140 cfs.
The Colorado River ran at 1,960 cfs at Glenwood Springs, or 29% of average, on July 6, down from last year’s 2,750 cfs, while the Colorado flowed at 1,930 cfs near the Colorado-Utah stateline, or 29% of average.
