Water elevations at both Marys Lake and Lake Estes will drop in the latter part of October. The lakes are being lowered so regular maintenance work can be completed at both facilities. The maintenance program will begin on Monday, October 18 with the drawdown of Marys Lake. The lake should be drawn to empty by Thursday, October 21. Once the lake is empty, work crews will begin inspections of the tunnels and penstocks from East Portal to Lake Estes. By emptying Marys Lake, crews can access the conveyance structures.

On October 28, the water level at Lake Estes will begin to drop. It will only draw down about nine feet from its current elevation, reaching a water level of 7436 feet by November 1. Work will move to Lake Estes on November 1 to begin regular maintenance at Olympus Dam, which impounds the small reservoir.

All maintenance is scheduled for completion by November 15. Marys is expected to be back at its normal water elevation by November 11. Estes should be back to normal water elevations by November 15.

Both Marys and Lake Estes are part of the Colorado-Big Thompson water diversion, delivery and storage project. The Bureau of Reclamation owns and operates the project.

For additional questions, please contact Kara Lamb at Reclamation's Loveland office at (970) 962-4326.