Twin Lakes Releases 2,500 Acre-Feet to Save Upper Arkansas River

Glenwood Springs —The air hangs heavy and still over the Arkansas River near Salida, the kind of heat that makes the asphalt shimmer and the water look less like a flowing entity and more like a sluggish, glassy sheet. It is late August, and the usual roar of whitewater rafters bouncing off the granite walls of Browns Canyon has been replaced by a tense, waiting silence. Flows have trended toward record lows for most of the summer, leaving anglers standing in ankle-deep water, wondering if the trout they’ve come to catch are still there, or if they’ve retreated into the mud to survive.

Then, the valves open.

Starting earlier this month, a dedicated release of 2,500 acre-feet of water began flowing from Twin Lakes Reservoir down the Upper Arkansas River, destined for Pueblo Reservoir by November. That is 815 million gallons of life injected into a system that has been gasping for air. The Southern Colorado Water Conservancy District approved the cooperative effort on August 6, a last-minute maneuver to keep fisheries, rafting, and recreation afloat amid what officials are calling a "catastrophic drought."

The part everyone skips past is the sheer scale of the drop. Reports show that flows on the Upper Arkansas River have been less than one-quarter of the historical average for most of the summer. That is not just a dip; that is a collapse. And it is happening in a river that holds the state’s designation for Gold Medal Fishing, a title reserved for waters that consistently provide exceptional trout opportunities.

"We’ve known that things were going to be bad this year on our rivers this late in summertime for a long time, but it takes the kind of conditions we’re seeing for people to really get creative about how to use some water," Blake Mamich, program director for the Colorado Water Trust, told the Post Independent. "In this case, we were able to do a quick deal and get some water in the river."

The creativity wasn't just theoretical. It was a logistical sprint. The water, equivalent to about 1,230 Olympic-sized swimming pools, is being pushed through the river system to moderate warming temperatures that stress trout species. Alex Townsend, an aquatic biologist with Colorado Parks and Wildlife, explained that the increased flows are crucial for keeping important habitat and foraging areas available for fish and invertebrates leading up to the fall brown trout spawning.

"Basically, morale in the Arkansas Basin was getting pretty low," Mamich said.

It’s easy to dismiss the drought as just another Colorado summer, but this is different. Last winter’s record-low snowpack set the stage, but the summer heat has been the executioner. While the state wildlife agency hasn’t formally issued a voluntary fishing closure on the Upper Arkansas River, Townsend said it’s "still prudent" to fish in the shallower, warmer sections. The risk isn't just about catching fewer fish; it’s about the ecosystem itself fracturing under the weight of unprecedented low flows and high water temperatures.

The deal is a stopgap, not a cure. It buys time. It allows the rafters to launch at Browns Canyon, one of the nation’s most popular whitewater destinations, and it gives the anglers a fighting chance at the Gold Medal stretch. But the water is finite. Once the 2,500 acre-feet are spent, the river returns to its natural, diminished state, waiting for the next drop of rain or snow.

Stand there long enough on the banks near Buena Vista, and you can feel the difference. The water moves faster now, cooler, carrying the sediment and nutrients that keep the food web alive. It’s a temporary reprieve, a bandage on a wound that runs deep. The river flows on, but it flows lighter, thinner, and with a urgency that only comes when you realize the well is nearly dry.