Thanks in part to bountiful snowfall this winter and water-pinching consumers along the Front Range, Denver Water’s system of reservoirs features the highest levels since 1958.
With the ponds brimming, Denver Water likely will play a minimal role in how streams flow this spring. That means Mother Nature is back in the driver’s seat when it comes to when and where rivers will swell.
“The weather this spring will play a big role in determining how this rafting and boating season shapes up,” Denver Water’s Marc Waage said.
Waage credits first and foremost Denver’s water users for their increased conservation, which has allowed Denver Water to keep its reservoir network swollen. Because of the ample supply, it is unlikely Denver Water will release much water through Roberts Tunnel, Waage said. That means the late-season flows kayakers have grown to love on the North Fork of the South Platte through Bailey Canyon likely will not come this year. But then, in a classic Catch-22, if the spring and summer are exceptionally dry on the plains, farmers out there will get thirsty and call for water, which likely will come through Roberts.
The almost-full Dillon Reservoir could fuel an increasingly sporadic paddling season on the Blue River, a fun stretch of whitewater between Silverthorne and Green Mountain Reservoir. Waage estimates that season could last four weeks, a rare treat for Summit County paddlers who have seen little action on the Blue for many seasons.
Along the Front Range, the super-warm March capped off most every reservoir that feeds the South Platte, which prompted Denver Water to dump more than usual from Chatfield into the South Platte through the metro area. That is going to continue if the Front Range sees “normal” spring weather, Waage said.
“With normal weather, we are expecting the highest spring releases out of Chatfield since 1999,” Waage said.
For boaters, that means that sweet, three-week peak last month of 1,000 cubic feet per second flows at the Union and Confluence playparks on the South Platte was no fluke. Metro-area kayakers could see similar flows for most of the spring paddling season, a big change from the paltry, “only when it rains” peaks seen in recent years. Those healthy flows also mean the quality of water in the South Platte should be much better than the filthy city’s bathwater endured in recent years.
