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Roaring Fork

Home1 / Water Planning2 / Colorado Basin Implementation Plan3 / Roaring Fork / Events4
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Roaring Fork Implementation Plan

Developed as part of the Colorado Basin Implementation Plan, which in turn contributed to Colorado’s statewide Water Plan.

The Roaring Fork Region, a main headwaters region, consists of the Roaring Fork River and many sizable tributaries including: Maroon Creek, Castle Creek, Hunter Creek, Woody Creek, Fryingpan River, Crystal River, Cattle Creek and Fourmile Creek. The Roaring Fork Region consists of nine major water providers, three Water Conservancy Districts and four counties. Additionally, the region is characterized by strong watershed organizations including the Roaring Fork Conservancy and Pitkin County Healthy Rivers and Streams Board. The Ruedi Water and Power Authority is a quasi-governmental agency made up of representatives from the five municipalities in the watershed, plus representatives from Pitkin and Eagle Counties. The region is very dependent upon tourism and recreation economies with a vibrant winter and summer recreation industry. There are five ski resorts contributing to the strong winter tourism in the region including Aspen, Highlands, Buttermilk, Snowmass and Sunlight Ski Resorts. These resort communities attract summer visitors as well through local Gold Medal fisheries, whitewater rafting, mountain biking, hiking, cultural attractions and overall scenic mountain settings.

Water is currently diverted out of the Basin to Front Range communities including Colorado Springs, Aurora and Pueblo through the Fryingpan-Arkansas Project and Twin Lakes Projects, amounting to an average annual yield of approximately 100,000 AFY. On average, 37% of the upper Roaring Fork Watershed (42,000 AFY) and 41% of the upper Fryingpan Watershed (59,000 AFY) is currently diverted annually to the Front Range. These are the 5th and 3rd largest transmountain diversions, respectively, in the state.

Water providers in the upper reaches of the Basin are dependent upon direct flow stream intakes and are susceptible to extended drought periods. Because the watersheds above these intakes are primarily located on U.S. Forest Service lands (USFS) the process for permitting a new reservoir will be rigorous. Due diligence to thoroughly investigate every option along with a detailed environmental mitigation plan, will be a necessary part of any permitting process. These water providers should also seek redundancy through other means including: enlargement of existing reservoirs, interconnects between regional water providers, development of well supplies and reliance upon multiple stream water supplies.

Colorado Water Plan

View Plan

A recent issue in the Roaring Fork Region that may impact water development in the future is the complete allocation of Ruedi Reservoir augmentation water. Ruedi has been the source of augmentation and physical water for not only the Roaring Fork Region but the entire Colorado Basin. Ruedi Reservoir became 100% allocated in 2013 when the Bureau of Reclamation sold the remaining unallocated volume in the reservoir. Several entities including the Basalt Water Conservancy District, the Colorado River Water Conservation District and Garfield County have large water holdings in Ruedi that can continue to provide augmentation water for future growth in the Roaring Fork Region. Further study is needed to determine if the water under contract with these entities is sufficient for future needs in the region to the year 2050 or beyond. Many Roar-ing Fork water providers have relatively junior water rights that are augmented by Ruedi Reservoir. Roaring Fork water providers that have post Compact water rights (junior to 1922) should aggressively convert agricultural rights senior to 1922 to points of potable water supply diversions. These pre-1922 water rights will provide protection against a future Compact call. This will require change cases in water court.

The primary need of the Roaring Fork Region is to protect, maintain and restore healthy rivers and streams. Almost 140 of 185 miles of streams surveyed in the Roaring Fork Region have moderately modified to severely degraded riparian habitat. There are three critical reaches of mainstreams that have been targeted for restoration 1) the Roaring Fork River below the Salvation Ditch through the City of Aspen; 2) the Roaring Fork River upstream from the confluence of the Fryingpan River; and 3) the Crystal River upstream from Carbondale. These three main reaches do not include all the smaller tributaries in the upper Fryingpan and the upper Roaring Fork that have been dewatered due to TMDs. Active efforts are underway to restore these reaches with innovative methods including, but not limited to, coordinated efforts among irrigators to maintain stream flows, improvements to irrigation ditch infrastructure efficiency and legislation similar to Senate Bill 14-023 (not enacted) promoting voluntary transfer of water efficiency savings to instream flows.

Some of the top priority projects in the region are conservation focused. A Regional Water Conservation Plan for the Roaring Fork watershed is currently underway and is exploring water conservation measures on a regional basis. The Roaring Fork Watershed Plan (Roaring Fork Conservancy, 2012) has outlined additional actions and projects to protect and restore the watershed and riparian habitats. Additionally, consideration is being given to studying the viability of small reservoirs located along some of the small tributaries such as Fourmile Creek and Cattle Creek which have been subject of diminished late season flows from irrigation diversions, and out of basin diversions. These reservoirs could provide multiple benefits including instream environmental flows during times when the tributaries dry up. Finally, the region should collaborate more with unified constituencies in a cooperative effort to develop multipurpose projects. Regional efforts among water providers, irrigators, conservation organizations and recreational enthusiast are pivotal to the implementation of any future project.

Colorado Basin Implementation Plan

View Plan

Region Themes

Roaring Fork Region


Consumptive Uses

Roaring Fork Region


Environmental & Recreational Conditions

Themes and
Supporting Vulnerabilities
MethodsIdentified Projects
Protect and Restore Healthy Streams, Rivers, Lakes and Riparian Areas

  • Aquatic environmental habitat degradation
  • Unmet instream/nonconsumptive flows
  • Impacts to tourism and recreation economies1
  • Annual dry river segment or “holes” (Lower Crystal River, Roaring Fork River above Fryingpan River and Roaring Fork River below Salvation Ditch)
  • Water quality degradation in tributaries
  • Impacts by existing and potential additional transmountain and in-basin diversions (Fry-Ark Project, Twin Lakes Project)
  • Water quality impacts from energy development
  • Unidentified funding system to support basin environmental and recreational needs
  • Roaring Fork Watershed Plan
  • Mitigate streams that have been impaired by transmountain diversions (in-basin and out-of-basin consumptive uses)
  • Monitor and evaluate water quality impacts from energy development
  • Regional stormwater management plans
  • Improved instream flows through better utilization of beneficial use of ditch water
  • Roaring Fork Water Efficiency Plan recommendations
  • Utilize local government land use authority to protect stream health
  • Tourism and recreation economy1 needs and funding opportunities
  • Evaluate state water policy and law for opportunities to assure adequate nonconsumptive instream flows
  • Review existing basin and state stream and watershed plans for better regional management and funding ideas. (Grand County Stream Management Plan, Pitkin County Healthy Rivers and Streams program, Roaring Fork Water Efficiency Plan, and the Endangered Fish Recovery)
  • New water rights should demonstrate how it complies with goals and themes of the BIP
  • Regional Section 208 Water Quality Management Plan
  • Northstar Restoration Project
  • Cattle Creek Restoration Project
  • Town of Basalt Restoration Project
  • Pitkin County and Carbondale RICDs
  • Pitkin County and City of Aspen ditch conversions to instream flow filing
  • Identify additional short term leases of agricultural and municipal water rights for instream use
  • Crystal River irrigators coordinated efforts to maintain instream flows
  • Aspen Reclaimed Water Project
  • Water provider conservation projects
  • Develop broadly-applicable metrics for measuring adequate streamflow and mitigation measures (physical and political)
  • Small reservoirs to improve instream flow in tributaries (Sopris Creek, Cattle Creek Snowmass Creek)
  • Develop municipal stormwater programs
  • Conduct an economic analysis that assesses the primary, secondary, and tertiary costs of a river
Secure Safe Drinking Water

  • Lack of redundancy in drinking water supplies
  • Sufficient supply storage during low flow periods
  • GWUDI designation on water provider alluvial wells
  • City of Aspen to investigate the possibility of developing redundant water supplies in the event the Castle and Maroon Creek sources are temporarily unavailable
  • Address extended drought protections
  • Address vulnerability towards source watershed protection/forest health
  • Investigate the development of storage reservoirs on both Maroon and Castle Creeks if no better alternative is discovered
  • Ziegler Reservoir 2nd enlargement
  • Aspen Deep Well System
  • Continue due diligence for the preservation of the 1972 storage rights on Maroon and Castle Creeks by giving true consideration to all other potential options
Develop Local Water Conscious Land Use Strategies

  • Source water degradation
  • Growth development impacting water supplies and environmental needs
  • Address Missouri Heights lowering groundwater levels
  • Water providers should work with neighboring entities to provide and plan for growth between boundaries
  • Promote water conscious growth development through improved land use policies
  • County Land Use Policy Review
  • Missouri Heights Reservoir enlargement
  • Avalanche Canal and Siphon Project
  • Fourmile Canal & Siphon Project
  • Martin Reservoirs enlargement
  • Water provider conservation projects
Encourage a High Level of Basinwide Conservation

  • Municipal and agricultural waste due to state laws promoting “use it or lose it”
  • Evaluate state water policy and law for opportunities to implement effective conservation
  • Recognize the discrepancies and contradictions between the current water rights system and conservation/nonconsumptive goals
  • Suggest incremental changes to both existing laws and water rights administration
  • Water provider conservation projects
  • Pitkin County and City of Aspen ditch conversions to instream flow filing
  • Identify additional short term leases of agricultural and municipal water rights for instream use

(The above information was extracted from the Colorado Basin Implementation Plan and edited slightly to fit)

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