River flows drop as summer marches on, valley drying out

Receding water normal for this time of year

The ebb has begun. White patches are shrinking slope-side with the regular monsoons yet to appear on the horizon. That’s left local rivers noticeably less raging than they were just a few weeks ago.

“It’s still pretty good flows,” said Beverly Richards, administrative assistant for the Upper Gunnison River Water Conservancy District. The receding water is normal and seasonal.
Recent measurements at the Gunnison White Water Park show a flow of 1,780 cubic feet per second (cfs). That’s down from a peak on June 2 of over 4,600 cfs. The East River at Almont also topped out in early June, with flows at approximately 3,000 cfs. That gage now reads 1,060 cfs.
The Slate River at Baxter Gulch showed a less dramatic decline, from a peak of 600 cfs mid-June to 448 cfs earlier this week.
Releases from Taylor Reservoir should hold steady this summer at a smidge above 400 cfs until August 16, when dam operators turn the faucet down to 275 cfs.
Our local pond is looking good, too. “The gauge height at Blue Mesa reads 659,210 acre feet of water,” said Richards. That’s 80 percent full, a level that’s expected to remain stable through most of the summer.
Jen Bickford of Three Rivers Resort says the rivers are holding up well for recreation. “We’re dam controlled,” Bickford said of their location at the Gunnison-Taylor-East River confluence, where they benefit from those constant and consistent releases from Taylor Reservoir. “For rafting it’s great. And now that the major releases are through, the fishing is better. We are busy busy!”