{"id":2695,"date":"2026-07-16T13:33:26","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T13:33:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=2695"},"modified":"2026-07-16T13:33:26","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T13:33:26","slug":"colorado-still-has-some-summer-river-flows-fit-for-rafting-even-in-severe-drought-heres-why","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=2695","title":{"rendered":"Colorado still has some summer river flows fit for rafting \u2014 even in severe drought. Here\u2019s why."},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready…<\/strong><\/div>\n
\n

Amid a devastating drought, Colorado\u2019s labyrinthine water management rules have yielded a silver lining for rafters, kayakers and visitors seeking the thrill of whitewater.<\/p>\n

Read more RTD panel recommends 10% bus, light-rail service cuts to save $31 million<\/a><\/p>\n

Even in the driest of years \u2014 like this one \u2014 powerful Western Slope water rights on the mainstem of the Colorado River draw water downstream, making boating on the state\u2019s major water artery possible.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor mainstem floating, we should still have pretty darn good flows for the rest of the season for as long as people want to be boating,\u201d said Sam Calahan, a water resources specialist for the Colorado River District. The taxpayer-funded agency is based in Glenwood Springs and works to protect Western Slope water.<\/p>\n

The dismal winter snowpack that resulted in a disappointing ski season has now translated to statewide drought. An unusually warm spring prompted early runoff and early peak flows in most Colorado rivers. Those flows then fell precipitously to levels too low for most sane boaters.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, Browns Canyon \u2014 a popular section of the Arkansas River near Buena Vista \u2014 was flowing at the lowest level in 55 years of data and at 16% of its median flow for that date. Clear Creek near Idaho Springs was flowing at 61 cubic feet per second on Wednesday, also a record low for the date in 72 years of data. The median flow for the date is 347 cfs, or more than five times as much water.<\/p>\n

Water levels in both stretches were below recommended levels to run, according to the American Whitewater Association.<\/p>\n

But flows on much of the Colorado River were high enough for rafts and kayaks this week. Flows on a popular section near Kremmling were near normal, as were water levels farther downstream in Glenwood Canyon.<\/p>\n

Two major factors keep water flowing down the Colorado River during drought: large\u00a0senior water rights owned by farmers in Mesa County\u2019s Grand Valley and the water rights connected to the Shoshone Power Plant, a hydroelectric facility in Glenwood Canyon owned by Xcel Energy.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Irrigators and power plant operators can call water to their facilities from upstream reservoirs, like Green Mountain Reservoir, which is on the Blue River \u2014 a tributary of the Colorado River \u2014 north of Silverthorne. This year, the irrigators began calling down water on July 1, boosting flows in the Colorado River.<\/p>\n

Read more Low flow, high temperatures make for unusual creek tubing season near Denver<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s sort of an operational byproduct of how water is managed in Colorado,\u201d said Matt Aboussie, spokesman for the Colorado River District, which is in the process of buying the power plant.<\/p>\n

The water is a lifeline for rafting companies, said David Costlow, the executive director of the Colorado River Outfitters Association.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s huge,\u201d Costlow said of the Colorado River flows. \u201cWe\u2019ve got customers that still want to go rafting, and it\u2019s good to still have options.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

If they can, rafting outfitters will shift operations to the Colorado River, he said.<\/p>\n

On a website description of a Clear Creek rafting trip, one major rafting company has included a section describing the current lack of certainty around flows this year and suggested a trip elsewhere.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re open to exploring another area, the Upper Colorado River near Kremmling is also a great option this summer, offering reliable flows, beautiful canyon scenery, and rafting trips for all experience levels less than an hour from Summit County,\u201d AVA Rafting and Zipline\u2019s website states.<\/p>\n

Flows on the Colorado River will continue to fluctuate through the season, Calahan said. If monsoon rains begin falling, irrigators will require less water from upstream reservoirs. Flows could then drop, but they would be supplemented by precipitation.<\/p>\n

Read more As Colorado invests in modular housing, a new player offers innovation on a shoestring<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWe could end up with not a terribly early end to the season,\u201d Calahan said.<\/p>\n

Get more Colorado news by signing up for our Mile High Roundup email newsletter.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Amid a devastating drought, rafters and kayakers can find rapids and enough river flows for rafting on the Colorado River because of water rights and the state’s labyrinthine water management rules.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2694,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,19,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2695","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-outdoors","category-things-to-do"],"yoast_head":"\nColorado still has some summer river flows fit for rafting \u2014 even in severe drought. Here\u2019s why. - Colorado Springs Moverss<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=2695\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Colorado still has some summer river flows fit for rafting \u2014 even in severe drought. Here\u2019s why. - Colorado Springs Moverss\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Amid a devastating drought, rafters and kayakers can find rapids and enough river flows for rafting on the Colorado River because of water rights and the state's labyrinthine water management rules.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=2695\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Colorado Springs Moverss\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-16T13:33:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=2695#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=2695\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4857af3bff7f66cee0c97667a8e70c1c\"},\"headline\":\"Colorado still has some summer river flows fit for rafting \u2014 even in severe drought. Here\u2019s why.\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-16T13:33:26+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=2695\"},\"wordCount\":686,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=2695#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/2e09d2b99f860fc01b411eb6fb526ec8.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\",\"Outdoors\",\"Things To Do\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=2695#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=2695\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=2695\",\"name\":\"Colorado still has some summer river flows fit for rafting \u2014 even in severe drought. Here\u2019s why. - Colorado Springs Moverss\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=2695#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=2695#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/2e09d2b99f860fc01b411eb6fb526ec8.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-16T13:33:26+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4857af3bff7f66cee0c97667a8e70c1c\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=2695#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=2695\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=2695#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/2e09d2b99f860fc01b411eb6fb526ec8.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/2e09d2b99f860fc01b411eb6fb526ec8.webp\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":683},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=2695#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Colorado still has some summer river flows fit for rafting \u2014 even in severe drought. Here\u2019s why.\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Colorado Springs Moverss\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4857af3bff7f66cee0c97667a8e70c1c\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Colorado still has some summer river flows fit for rafting \u2014 even in severe drought. Here\u2019s why. - Colorado Springs Moverss","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=2695","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Colorado still has some summer river flows fit for rafting \u2014 even in severe drought. Here\u2019s why. - Colorado Springs Moverss","og_description":"Amid a devastating drought, rafters and kayakers can find rapids and enough river flows for rafting on the Colorado River because of water rights and the state's labyrinthine water management rules.","og_url":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=2695","og_site_name":"Colorado Springs Moverss","article_published_time":"2026-07-16T13:33:26+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=2695#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=2695"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4857af3bff7f66cee0c97667a8e70c1c"},"headline":"Colorado still has some summer river flows fit for rafting \u2014 even in severe drought. Here\u2019s why.","datePublished":"2026-07-16T13:33:26+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=2695"},"wordCount":686,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=2695#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/2e09d2b99f860fc01b411eb6fb526ec8.webp","articleSection":["News","Outdoors","Things To Do"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=2695#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=2695","url":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=2695","name":"Colorado still has some summer river flows fit for rafting \u2014 even in severe drought. Here\u2019s why. - Colorado Springs Moverss","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=2695#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=2695#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/2e09d2b99f860fc01b411eb6fb526ec8.webp","datePublished":"2026-07-16T13:33:26+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4857af3bff7f66cee0c97667a8e70c1c"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=2695#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=2695"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=2695#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/2e09d2b99f860fc01b411eb6fb526ec8.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/2e09d2b99f860fc01b411eb6fb526ec8.webp","width":1024,"height":683},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=2695#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Colorado still has some summer river flows fit for rafting \u2014 even in severe drought. Here\u2019s why."}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/","name":"Colorado Springs Moverss","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4857af3bff7f66cee0c97667a8e70c1c","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com"],"url":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2695","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2695"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2695\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2694"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2695"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2695"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2695"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}