Current Status
Last Updated: April 6, 2026
Aspinall Unit Reservoirs – As of April 5, 2026, releases from Crystal Dam are approximately 1350 cfs. Flows of the Gunnison River in the Black Canyon are being maintained at about 330 cfs while the Gunnison Tunnel is approximately 1000 cfs. Flows in the Whitewater Reach of the Gunnison River are about 1400 cfs.
The unregulated inflow volume in March to Blue Mesa was approximately 42,000 af (113 percent of average). Unregulated Inflow volumes forecasted for Blue Mesa for the next three months (April, May and June) are projected to be: 67,000 af (86 percent of average), 89,000 af (44 percent of average), and 57,000 af (23 percent of average), respectively.
The forecasted 2026 water year unregulated inflow volume to Blue Mesa is projected to be 479,000 af (53 percent of average). The water supply period (April-July) for 2026 is forecasted currently for an unregulated inflow volume of 240,000 af (37 percent of average).
Under this forecast, operation of Aspinall under the Aspinall Record of Decision (2012) would require a spring peak release to provide 1 day of sustained flows in the Gunnison River in the Whitewater reach at or above 900 cfs. This forecast would also require Aspinall releases to provide a single day peak flow in the Black Canyon of 829 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 7,468 feet by late May with approximately 420,000 acre-feet of storage. This is approximately 51 feet from full pool elevation (7519.4 feet) with approximately 408,000 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 comment 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 Andrew Limbach in the Western Colorado Area office at (970) 248-0644.
The next Operations Group meeting will be held on April 23, 2026 at 1:00 p.m. This meeting will be virtual. Contact Andrew Limbach in the Western Colorado Area office at (970) 248-0644 for more information regarding this Operation Group meeting.
Update 4/6/2026 - Alexander Walker
To view the most current reservoir elevation, content, inflow and release, click on: Blue Mesa Reservoir Data or Crystal Reservoir Data.
