Ruedi Dam & Reservoir
Ruedi Dam and Reservoir are located on the Fryingpan River, a tributary of the Roaring Fork River, within the headwaters of the Colorado River. Reclamation built them as part of the Fryingpan-Arkansas Project. The project provides water for beneficial use to Colorado water users from the Kansas to the Utah borders.
One of the reservoir's purposes is to compensate Colorado River Basin water users for the diversion of Colorado River Basin water to the Arkansas River Basin in southeastern Colorado. The reservoir releases stored water for multiple West Slope beneficial uses, including irrigation, domestic and municipal water supply, industrial, and environmental purposes. A portion of the reservoir stored water is reserved for fish and wildlife enhancement.
Ruedi Reservoir holds approximately 102,000 acre-feet of water with a surface area of 1,000 acres when full. The reservoir is typically at the lowest level in April but begins rising during the spring snow melt. It is full or very close to full by mid-July in most years. Water levels decrease rapidly during late-summer and fall when water is released to the Colorado River basin for West Slope beneficial use.
Links to Additional Information
- Ruedi Reservoir Storage Allocations
- Learn more about environmental processes concerning Ruedi Reservoir from our National Environmental Policy Act page.
- To learn more about releases from Ruedi Reservoir for endangered fish, please visit the Upper Colorado River Basin Endangered Fish Recovery Program.
- The USGS page for streamflow below Ruedi Dam provides up-to-date information for water released to the lower Fryingpan River.
- Track Ruedi Reservoir's current water level.
Summer morning at Ruedi Reservoir, August 2022.
