Current Status
Last Updated: May 8, 2025
Aspinall Unit Reservoirs – As of May 6, 2025, releases from Crystal Dam are approximately 1,500 cfs. Flows of the Gunnison River in the Black Canyon are being maintained at about 450 cfs. Flows in the Whitewater Reach of the Gunnison River are about 1,600 cfs.
The unregulated inflow volume in April to Blue Mesa was 85,000 af (108 percent of average). Unregulated Inflow volumes forecasted for Blue Mesa for the next three months (May, June, and July) are projected to be 148,000 af (74 percent of average), 163,000 af (65 percent of average), and 64,000 af (60 percent of average), respectively.
The forecasted 2025 water year unregulated inflow volume to Blue Mesa is projected to be 723,000 af (80 percent of average). The water supply period (April-July) for 2025 is forecasted currently for an unregulated inflow volume of to be 460,000 af of unregulated inflow (70 percent of average).
Under this forecast, operation of Aspinall under the Aspinall Record of Decision (2012) would require a spring peak release to provide a 1-day peak flow in the Gunnison River in the Whitewater reach at or above 8,070 cfs. This forecast would also require Aspinall releases to provide a single day peak flow in the Black Canyon of 2,359 cfs per the Black Canyon Reserved Water Right Decree. Given this current projection of the most probable operating scenario, Blue Mesa is projected to fill to approximately 7,499 feet by early July with approximately 650,000 acre-feet of storage. This is approximately 20 feet from full pool elevation (7519.4 feet) with approximately 178,000 acre-feet of unfilled storage space in Blue Mesa Reservoir.
The Aspinall Unit Operations Group is an open public forum for information exchange between Reclamation and the stakeholders of the Aspinall Unit. The public is encouraged to attend and comments on the operations and plans presented by Reclamation at these meetings. Meeting notes from past working Group meetings are posted on the Operations Group webpage. For more information on this group and these meetings please contact Erik Knight in the Grand Junction Area Office at (970) 248-0629.
The next Operations Group meeting will be held on August 21, 2025 at 1:00 p.m. The meeting location is TBD. Contact Erik Knight in the Grand Junction Area Office at (970) 248-0629 to get more information regarding this Operation Group meeting.
Update 5/8/2025 - Nathaniel Todea
To view the most current reservoir elevation, content, inflow and release, click on: Blue Mesa Reservoir Data or Crystal Reservoir Data.
