Click the link to read the article on the Sky-Hi Daily News website (Isabel Del Mastro). Here’s an excerpt:
Grand County residents will see considerably less water flowing down the Fraser River starting Oct. 13th. Denver Water typically diverts water from the Fraser River through the Moffat Tunnel to serve customers during the winter, according to Trout Unlimited. But because of extreme drought conditions caused by a lack of snowpack and record-high temperatures, the Fraser River has considerably less water to give…
Since 1969, Fraser River flows have been required to maintain a minimum of 4 cubic feet per second, or cfs, when Denver Water diverts water, a requirement tied in part to U.S. Forest Service requirements. Now, Denver Water is reducing Fraser River flows to 2 cubic feet per second starting Oct. 13 to accommodate extreme drought conditions, according to a Denver Water email forwarded to Sky-Hi News. Reductions remain in place until May 15, unless drought conditions improve or if Denver Water encounters “unforeseen operational issues” that require them to increase reductions, according to Denver Water Communications Manager Travis Thompson, in an email to Sky-Hi News. Along with reducing Fraser River flows, Denver Water will reduce flows in its tributaries; Vasquez Creek and St. Louis Creek will be reduced to 2 cfs, and Ranch Creek to 1.5 cfs, according to the Denver Water email and Kirk Klancke, president of the Colorado River Headwaters Grand County Chapter.