# 2013 NFSP / Robert Tunnel Flows



## deepsouthpaddler (Apr 14, 2004)

No flows from the tunnel yet. With lots of spring precip and runoff starting, Denver Water hasn't needed any tunnel flows, and they don't think they will turn on the tunnel in the near term.

Thats ok though... store it and let it flow in July / Aug when everythign else is dry.


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## smauk2 (Jun 24, 2009)

deepsouthpaddler said:


> Thats ok though... store it and let it flow in July / Aug when everythign else is dry.


This makes me happy.


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## deepsouthpaddler (Apr 14, 2004)

6/3 update...

Denver Water told me they made the order to turn on the tunnel to 100 cfs today. That would put about 250 in the north fork based on current flows. The north fork snowmelt is responding to the heat, so the north fork could be on the the cusp of runnable here shortly.

The weather, runoff, water demand etc is highly variable right now, so I'd expect changes to come frequently.

As a reminder... DW typically makes tunnel changes mid moring around 9-10 am, and it typically takes 2-3 hours for tunnel water changes to hit the bailey gauge. 

June is finally here! Hope you are all getting wet and having some good paddling.


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## deepsouthpaddler (Apr 14, 2004)

6/10 update...

Spoke to Denver Water today. Tunnel holding at 75 cfs, which they dropped it to last friday. They think the will probably go up with the tunnel this week, but don't know when or how much. Its pretty tricky business for them now as they are watching demand and runoff and trying to figure out how much water to pull.

Keep your eyes on the gauges, and I will update later in the week.


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## deepsouthpaddler (Apr 14, 2004)

6/17 update...

Denver Water has the tunnel up to 190 cfs today, and the north fork is in. Spoke with them this morning, but they didn't have an update yet on flows.

The DW board is meeting this week to determine if they will move from stage II drought restrictions (mandatory watering restrictions) to stage I drought restrictions, which I think are voluntary.

DW contact said that stage II mandatory restrictions drop demand by about 20% and if they keep up this year, tunnel flows could be lower than otherwise.

Also, DW has been taking a lot of water through the south boulder creek / gross reservoir system, which has lowered the demand for tunnel water.

I am going to a meeting this week at Denver Water for the annual south platte protection plan. The DW folks are going to put spot on the agenda to talk about the success of Bailey Fest. I'm really pumped to see river recreation get some positive PR in front of a room of water managers, wildlife folks, fishermen etc. DW contact mentioned that the Board members want to plan a field trip up to Bailey Fest this year. If you see them up there, say THANKS!


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## deepsouthpaddler (Apr 14, 2004)

6/21 update...

Denver Water is bumping up the tunnel from 220 to 270. This should put flows in the north fork at 400 cfs or a tad over. Nice summertime flows!

Denver Water told me that there is a rumor that the folks fighing the lime gulch fire near foxton might ask Denver Water to turn down the tunnel to help them cross the river easier while fighting the fire. Keep an eye on the gauges this weekend if you go. Remember that it takes 2-3 hrs for tunnel changes to get to Bailey, so if you check flows before you put on and the tunnel is still on, you are good to go.

I went to Denver Water's annual South Platte Protection Plan meeting. Denver Water gives an update on snowpack conditions and water supply issues. The SPPP was an alternate plan to wild and scenic status and it outlined fisheries management on the main stem and whitewater recreation on the north fork as highly valued activities that Denver Water would try to help improve in its operations. DW does a lot to manage flows and water temps to try and help the fisheries on the main stem. To help recreational boating, I worked with Denver Water to come up with the Bailey Fest release weekend. This year I gave the meeting a report of how Bailey Fest is going and, it was recieved very well. The folks at this meeting are water managers from metro and suburbs, land owner reps, fishing reps, etc. By my calculations we had about 300 people at bailey fest that probably ran the river at least twice that weekend for a total of 600 user days on the river that weekend (user day = 1 person paddling 1 day). My guess at how many folks would paddle Bailey on any given weekend in August if Bailey was running was 60, and thats probably an over statement. I noted that Bailey Fest has basically increased the user days by a factor of 10 by planning it out and having a release. We also get a lot of people from far away that would likely never risk the skunk factor of driving to bailey for the weekend if it were not for the release. I was really pumped to see a very positive response to Bailey Fest from Denver Water and many of the representatives sitting around the table.

On the water supply front... Denver Water declared a stage II drought, which has mandatory watering restrictions that has but demand by about 20%. The Denver Water board is meeting next week, and one issue is whether they should drop back to stage I drought restrictions (voluntary) given that april snows boosted water supply and runoff. The stage II was declacred before April's saving storms came.

Even with April's good snow, Cheeseman reservoir will likely not fill this year, which means Denver Water is releasing the bare minimimum out of cheesemen reservoir. They just went up to 70 cfs from 40 cfs, which is a very low flow there. The fisherman are pissed as its tough for he fish at that low of flow.

As for the tunnel, we will probably see some decent flows this summer, but its not clear how much water they will bring over. If the drought restrictions get rolled back, flows in the north fork will likely go up vs. what they would have otherwise. 

First day of summer... hope you get on some good water!


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## marko (Feb 25, 2004)

Ian,
Thanks for the update, and for being such a great representative for the paddling community at these meetings!


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## deepsouthpaddler (Apr 14, 2004)

Thanks Mark!

6/24 update...

Called Denver Water today, but nobody knew what the plan was since the main guy was out. The blip on the gauge got me thinking they were turning it down, but I have learned that that signature is when the power plant trips and they bring it back up. 

Looks like Denver Water is holding the 275 for now. Not sure what they will do... Looks like a hot week and natural flow is tanking. Wouldn't be surprised to see the tunnel bump up a bit, but 275 is pretty high of a tunnel flow overall. 

Paddled Bailey at just over 400 this weekend, and it was awesome, as usual. 

The Bailey Fest foamie course made an appearance at this past weekends South Platte Riverfest. Foamie carnage was in full force, and the kids loved it, proving that loving carnage is innate.


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## Miller Time (Apr 3, 2009)

Bailey was great on Sunday over 400 cfs. The log in between the 2nd and 3rd falls isn't too much of an issue but I imagine at bailey Fest it might catch a few off guard. 

FYI- someone has dropped probably 50+ rubber bathroom duckies in the river. They weren't there 3 weeks ago. 

We paddled along side the land owner yesterday. He was very happy with us and we thanked him multiple times for his limited access. Keep up the positive experiences with this guy before we TURN ON THE TUNNEL!


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## deepsouthpaddler (Apr 14, 2004)

They do a duck race in the town of bailey during the bailey days event. I guess they haven't figured out that they are littering in the river and should catch those ducks. When you find them, put them in your boat and see who can collect the most. Sometimes they are in fun eddies and make you work for them. 

By the way... One time I saw a real baby duckling swim supermax at 600+!


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## lmyers (Jun 10, 2008)

deepsouthpaddler said:


> Even with April's good snow, Cheeseman reservoir will likely not fill this year, which means Denver Water is releasing the bare minimimum out of cheesemen reservoir. They just went up to 70 cfs from 40 cfs, which is a very low flow there. The fisherman are pissed as its tough for he fish at that low of flow.


Do you know if Denver Water has any plans to send water down to Cheeseman from Elevenmile anytime soon? Inflow has been significantly higher than outflow for a month or more, and according to State Parks and Wildlife "the reservoir was 102% full as of June 17th." Thanks.

Conditions at Eleven Mile | Colorado Parks and Wildlife


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## deepsouthpaddler (Apr 14, 2004)

6/25 update...

Denver Water is keeping the tunnel at 275ish for right now. They are having a meeting later today to look at demand, waterflows etc. There are two small fires near strontia springs reservoir that could potentially impact DW's operations, but they didn't know what that impact might be.

Lmeyers, I spoke with Denver Water about elevenmile. Short answer, they don't expect flows to bump up there... expect it to stay fairly steady and low.

Denver Water uses elevenmile as a drought reservoir. Its deep and narrow and has a relatively low evaporation rate, so they want to keep the water in that reservoir until they need it. If they think they can meet metro needs with the water in cheeseman downstream, they won't pull any water out of elevenmile. If cheeseman and dillon don't have enough water to meet metro needs, then they might start pulling water out of elevenmile. 

Whats coming out of elevenmile right now is primarily Aurora waters water from spinney passing through elevemile and cheeseman and into strontia springs where Aurora picks up the water with a pipeline. Right now Aurora water demand is the primary driver of flows out of elevenmile, and that is expected to be relatively constant.

I think the big flows from elevenmile that boaters like happen in two scenarios: 1) big water year, and inflow is huge and they have to bypass flows they can't store (rare), and 2) really bad drought year when they need to drain upper reservoirs or use significant storage (rare as well). So, no good news for the elevenmile boaters. Good news is that the north fork is at good levels now.


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## spthomson (Oct 18, 2003)

Ian, thanks for all the updates/detailed info. Diversion/dams in this state are fascinating. What's your connection to DW/how do you get access to that info? I'd just be interested to learn more about how it all works.


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## deepsouthpaddler (Apr 14, 2004)

SPT... My connection to Denver Water is simply relaying information from Denver Water to the paddling community. Before I did this there were other folks who did the same. Denver Water knows that paddlers want info on water operations to plan their paddling, so they agreed to have an informal mountainbuzz representative call up and get the scoop and relay to the buzz.

Once I got my foot in the door doing the water information relay... I negotiated a planned release for Bailey Fest, so now the relationship is a little different that just information exchange.


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## zercon (Aug 30, 2006)

*And the Blue?*

See if you can get them to send some of that down the Blue, pretty dry up there


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## deepsouthpaddler (Apr 14, 2004)

Sorry Z. The blue is a whole different story.


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## zercon (Aug 30, 2006)

Yea I know the whole story. Nice to see someone is enjoying the water. I have long hated that tunnel so it is good to see the water gives boaters some fun before getting pissed on lawns in Denver . Maybe silverthorne boaters should try to get Denver water to crank up the blue at least once a year. silverthorne fest ?


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## jmack (Jun 3, 2004)

Z- there is this run called gore canyon near you that is closer than Bailey, runs more often than Bailey, and is better than Bailey. You should check it out. It will make you feel better about living in summit county. Also, there is this guy named brian who will paddle it with you every day. At first it will seem weird, then it will get more normal. You are welcome.


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## tommycolorado (Jun 24, 2009)

"Silverthorne Blue River Fest!" Yep, I had that same idea when Denver Water released a good flow on the Blue over a Labor Day weekend about 8 or 9 years ago. Unfortunately, the releases are so unpredictable and differ from year to year preventing any regular plan for a boating fest.


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## deepsouthpaddler (Apr 14, 2004)

6/26 update...

Denver Water is holding the tunnel steady today. Good flows in the north fork. I'll update Friday for the weekend, or sooner if it changes.

For the record... I love Roberts Tunnel. My favorite tunnel in the state!


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## cayo 2 (Apr 20, 2007)

They just announced an easing of watering restrictions from two days a week to three.I assume that means more water coming through the tunnel over the course of the summer..Good news for Bailey -Foxton -Waterton,probably bad news for the Upper Blue.This one you CAN. blame on increased Front Range lawn watering demand.Their reasoning had to do with improved water levels in Lake Dillon, at least the way the news told it....poor upper Blue used to run 600. to 1000 tor a few weeks every year, hardly ever seems to be 200 anymore...short ok intermediate run with play....


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## deepsouthpaddler (Apr 14, 2004)

Didn't hear the news story. I did hear Denver Water's take on it though.

They declared stage II drought in April before the big late season storms. When they declared it, the situation was dire.

They changed from stage II to stage I drought restrictions because the current supply situation after the late season snowpack was in line with their categories for levels of drought. 

The net impact of reducing the drought restrictions is likely to increase water demand slightly, which will in turn result in slightly higher flows in the north fork and slightly higher volumes pulled from Dillon.


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## deepsouthpaddler (Apr 14, 2004)

6/27 update...

DW bumped up tunnel to 300 from 275. Nice bump! I'm headed to bailey tomorrow at noon.


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## zercon (Aug 30, 2006)

*Blue River fest*

Tommy maybe the town needs to get involved. I know Silverthorne is more concerned with adding big box retailers, but there are a ton of local boaters. After that Lowes went in I suggested we change the town name to Aurorathorne.


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## deepsouthpaddler (Apr 14, 2004)

6/28 update...

Denver Water is holding the tunnel steady today, and thinks that they should hold current flows through the weekend. If demand stays at current levels they may bump it up a tad this weekend depending on precip. 

Also, they said that they were bumping Moffat tunnel flows up about 20-30 cfs into upper south boulder creek. 

Enjoy the summer flows!


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## deepsouthpaddler (Apr 14, 2004)

7/1 update...

Denver Water is holding the tunnel steady today at ~300 cfs. Bailey gauge is reading 450, and Bailey is at fun summertime flows. Love it!

Denver water says that if demand doesn't pick up, they may have to turn the tunnel down tomorrow or the next day. The last few days of precip have lowered demand a bit and increased river flows a tad. On the flip side, if its hot and the afternoon t-storms don't produce much precip over the metro area, they could keep tunnel flows up.

If they do turn the tunnel down later this week, it would probably be in the 50ish cfs range down to 250 which would still put nice flows in the north fork.

I managed to briefly pin in the notch drop in the steeps this past friday. The right side of my nose grazed the rock on the right side of the slot, which then fed my boat to the left, and I perfectly stuck with my nose stuck on the left rock, and my sterm stuck on the right rock. I was stable and was trying to pry off, when my buddy came barreling in and knocked me out of the pin. I let my gaurd down a bit and paid for it. I've ran that rapid countless times and never had any trouble really. I was amazed that it happened. Anyway... good reminder to always stay vigilant,even on familair drops.


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## deepsouthpaddler (Apr 14, 2004)

7/2 update...

Denver Water is holding the tunnel steady at ~300 cfs. Prime flows on the north fork! They think that flows will stay in this range for the near term. Looks like hotter weather with less chance of precip in the forecast, so if that pans out they will stay at 300 for a while. If it rains or demand drops, they could cut it back a bit.

I'd heading out of the country July 4th through the following week, but will get a backup for the Denver Water contact.

Enjoy!


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## deepsouthpaddler (Apr 14, 2004)

7/3 update...

Denver water cut back the tunnel 60 cfs to 240. Flows in the north fork should drop down to 300ish. 400+ was nice while it lasted!

I'm out of the country for 10 days and Kevin will get the DW updates while I am gone.


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## miker (Jan 26, 2006)

Fuck!


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## Nathan (Aug 7, 2004)

miker said:


> Fuck!


Come on now, I'm sure Kevin will do just fine for 10 days.


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## craven_morhead (Feb 20, 2007)

Nathan said:


> Come on now, I'm sure Kevin will do just fine for 10 days.


...but every flow update will come with a plug for Riverbrain


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## bobbuilds (May 12, 2007)

Nathan said:


> Come on now, I'm sure Kevin will do just fine for 10 days.


I'm pretty sure "fuck" was for the drop in flow, or there is something I dont know about KSC's flow updating abilitys


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## JDHOG72 (Jul 18, 2007)

bobbuilds said:


> I'm pretty sure "fuck" was for the drop in flow, or there is something I dont know about KSC's flow updating abilitys


Socially Autistic


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## deepsouthpaddler (Apr 14, 2004)

Have faith guys. Once river brain becomes self aware it will start controlling all the tunnels, diversions, and dams. I'm sure Kevin is working hard on this.


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## adgeiser (May 26, 2009)

deepsouthpaddler said:


> Have faith guys. Once river brain becomes self aware it will start controlling all the tunnels, diversions, and dams. I'm sure Kevin is working hard on this.


Awesome.


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## lmyers (Jun 10, 2008)

South Fork through Elevenmile is up to minimum...


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## KSC (Oct 22, 2003)

*7/8 update...*

7/8 update...

While Ian is "hungary" for travel, I'm here to keep you buzzards fed with information because we all know that information is power and power means more kayaking. Let's start with this question:

How long does it take a CSU student to screw in a light bulb?
Just one but he gets 3 hours of credit.

How long does it take a CSU student to get to Bailey?
3 hours, but it feels like 1 because it's going to be so awesome.

Wait, am I screwing this report up?

Ok, I talked with Denver Water today and it sounds like flows will remain nice throughout the week. If you've been tracking Bailey on River Brain like you should be (South Platte River, North Fork - Bailey Canyon - River Brain), then you know that the outflow of the Roberts Tunnel has been holding steadily around 260 cfs for the past several days. Right now, that translates to roughly 360 cfs in the run.

Releases are likely to remain about the same this week, but may increase 50-60 cfs if demand grows with the warm weather. If there's an increase, the earliest would be tomorrow morning, but more likely midweek.

These are fun flows for Bailey and Foxton, so in honor of Ian's absent soul, get out there while the water's cold and the weather's hot.


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## KSC (Oct 22, 2003)

*7/12 update*

7/12 update

beep...beep...beep

This just in... Have you been busy checking your River Brain flow list for the weekend? I just got the latest update from Denver Water and the release out of the Roberts Tunnel is predicted to remain constant over the weekend. Any additional demand will likely come from Cheeseman.

The tunnel has been releasing 265 cfs. With natural flows tailing off, that's been translating to 325-350 cfs on the Bailey gauge this week. It looks like some rain yesterday gave it a temporary bump into the upper 300s. Although not the nice padded 400+ cfs flows, these are still fun flows for Bailey and Foxton.


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## KSC (Oct 22, 2003)

One other note, I was looking at the Denver Water "Water Watch Report." I've heard a number of people asking how full Lake Dillion is, with various eye witness speculations ranging from lowest they'd ever seen it to about normal. As of the report date from the beginning of the week they reported that Dillion was 95% full. That compares to 91% last year, but a historic median of 101% (I don't know how something is >100% full but personally I'd call it -1% empty).


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## KUpolo (May 24, 2005)

KSC said:


> One other note, I was looking at the Denver Water "Water Watch Report." I've heard a number of people asking how full Lake Dillion is, with various eye witness speculations ranging from lowest they'd ever seen it to about normal. As of the report date from the beginning of the week they reported that Dillion was 95% full. That compares to 91% last year, but a historic median of 101% (I don't know how something is >100% full but personally I'd call it -1% empty).


http://www.denverwater.org/SupplyPlanning/WaterSupply/ReservoirLevels/

Shows Dillon currently holding 245,166 acre feet and a capacity of 257,304 acre feet. Sounds like 95% to me too.


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## stubby (Oct 13, 2003)

They dropped the tunnel today down to what looks like 150cfs. Probably secondary to the rain in town. 

That should put NF flows at about 225. Hard saying with the rain bumps, but definitely puts it into bone zone if you didn't get on this morning.


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## KSC (Oct 22, 2003)

Hey, don't blame me, I just relay the messages. Whenever there's a significant rain event on the Front Range (like yesterday) and fields around Denver start looking green, it's a good idea to be heads up for a reduction in tunnel flows. The flow is mostly determined by Denver's demand for water, so if nature takes care of the watering, expect demand to fall. As deepsouth has previously stated, adjustments in tunnel outflow tend to occur in the morning and take a couple of hours to reach the canyon. So if you're a punctilious boater like myself and my wiser friends, you got in there early this morning with a nice 400 cfs flow. If you're indolent and shiftless like Roy and Texas Ken, then you spend your time trying to break your new boat.


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## sfornst (Mar 31, 2009)

Kevin, I'm pretty sure they wouldn't have dropped flows on us if Ian was around. It's not real boating if you can't drink beer at the takeout.


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## deepsouthpaddler (Apr 14, 2004)

Couldn't of said it better myself Kevin. 

7/16 update...

Denver water is holding the tunnel steady today. Monsoon precip has cut demand and has bumped up river flows, so less tunnel water is needed.

Weather forecast calls for the current monsoon pattern to move out today followed by drier weather. I'd expect demand to pick up. If I was a betting man, I'd guess the tunnel might start creeping back up thursday or friday.


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## deepsouthpaddler (Apr 14, 2004)

7/17 update...

Denver Water turned up the tunnel to 200 cfs today. Demand us up after the rains knocked it down. Flows in the north fork should be around 300 for bailey.

If weather stays relatively dry, demand should go up, and so will the tunnel. Weather forecast for thur/fri has increased chance of t-storms and during the monsoon season, those could either be a bust or dump tons of rain. Denver Waters response will depend on what the rain does.


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## tango (Feb 1, 2006)

Anybody paddling bailey after work today? Or want to hook me up with a shuttle for a solo mission?


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## deepsouthpaddler (Apr 14, 2004)

7/18 update...

Denver Water turned up the tunnel to 250 today. Nice! Not sure how long it will last though. There is rain in the forecast for today and friday. Rain over the denver metro area will drop demand, which could cause the tunnel to be turned down. Heavy rain in the south platte upper watershed could also cause tunnel flows to drop.

I have been asked several times what I think bailey will do this weekend. Tough question... all depends on the rain. My advice... if the tunnel is still up friday night and you want to paddle saturday and it has been raining friday in town... get to bailey early and shoot to put on the river before 10 or earlier. They typically change flows around 9ish, and it takes a couple hours for flow drops to get down to bailey from the tunnel.

I will call denver water tomorrow to see what they are thinking. Check the gauges over the weekend, and check the radar to see if its raining a lot in denver to get an idea of whether they might turn the tunnel down. Always check the tunnel gauge linked below before you put on or head up there to make sure they didn't turn the tunnel down on you.

Detail Graph


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## deepsouthpaddler (Apr 14, 2004)

addendum to last post...

I just found a new NWS tool that allows you to select a polygon area on a map and do a zone forecast. This also came back with a quantitative precipitation forecast. The NWS forecast had little precip today in denver, but forecast a 1/4 inch friday. 

My best quess right now would be that current tunnel flows of 250 hold on friday, it rains friday in town, and then on saturday I would guess denver water turns down the tunnel a bit. Maybe 150-200. 

So if you want to paddle bailey this weekend, hit it early saturday if the tunnel is still on in the AM. Just my quess... all depends on the weather but wanted to give you guys the best info I could since runoff is pretty much done and all eyes are on bailey now.


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## deepsouthpaddler (Apr 14, 2004)

7/19 update...

Denver water is holding the tunnel steady at 250 today. Rain is in the forecast so there is a good chance it could drop tomorrow. Get out early if you try and get on bailey.


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## deepsouthpaddler (Apr 14, 2004)

7/22 update...

Denver Water turned down the tunnel today from 250 to 200 cfs. Bummer. They said that they need to do some work on a DW boat ramp at strontia springs reservoir, so they cut the tunnel to allow strontia to drop down enough to do the work. They think they might keep flows cut back for a day or two. Its a hot week, so flows should bump back up a bit as soon as the work is done. Monsoon storms are back in the forecast for later in the week, which makes things a bit more uncertain.


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## spthomson (Oct 18, 2003)

Interesting...I know you're just the messenger, so not questioning you...

Roberts dropped, but outflows to south fork went up by same amount, so Waterton level seemingly stayed steady.


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## deepsouthpaddler (Apr 14, 2004)

Yes. I see DW increased the flows below cheeseman today too. We didn't talk about that, only the north fork. They probably wanted to go up on cheeseman, and would have kept the north fork at 250 if they didn't have to drop the level of strontia. But, just a guess. I'll check in tomorrow and see what the real deal was. The story I got was all relative to the tunnel and the north fork.

FYI, many folks refer to the south platte as the south fork of the south platte when referencing it with respect to the north fork of the south platte. The river that confluences with the north fork at waterton is named the south platte, not the south fork of the south platte. The south fork of the south platte and the middle fork of the south platte confluence up in south park to form the south platte propper, and the south platte then confluences with the north fork at waterton. Just thought I would clarify as I have heard this mistake many times. I got quizzed on this on a bailey shuttle on friday, and didn't know where the south fork of the south platte actually was, so I looked at the gazetteer to confirm this weekend.


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## deepsouthpaddler (Apr 14, 2004)

I have no clue what they are doing with the tunnel today. Called them up this morning and they said they weren't going to change it, but weren't sure since the guy who made the call wasn't around. An hour later I saw a bump on the gauge, and called to see if they were going up. They didn't know. Final call back, and they said that the boat ramp work is done and they are going up to 250 on the tunnel, but the gauge is down to 200 on the tunnel now. They haven't turned it up yet, and they usually do by this time, so who knows. They also think that there is a good chance they may go up a tad more tomorrow since today is going to be really hot. Maybe another 25-50 cfs bump tomorrow. So supposed to bump today sometime, and maybe tomorrow a little more. 

Also, previous poster asked about cheeseman going up when the tunnel went down. This was due to balancing out the system. Its looking like cheeseman reservoir will fill after all this year, while dillon will not. Because of that DW started taking more out of cheeseman. They constantly adjust to try to get maximum storage.


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## spthomson (Oct 18, 2003)

Thanks for the ongoing updates, Ian. I appreciate it!


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## deepsouthpaddler (Apr 14, 2004)

7/24 update...

Denver Water is turning up the tunnel to 250 cfs today, up from 200. Hell yeah! Turn it up! Turn on the TUNNEL!!! Sorry, got a little fired up there. Love it when the tunnel comes back.

Not sure how long this will last. There is a chance of rain later in the week with slightly lower temps, so the tunnel could go down later in the week. Or it could stay the same, or go up. Who knows. What I do know is that you have to sieze the day. Carpe Boofum.


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## deepsouthpaddler (Apr 14, 2004)

7/25 update...

Denver Water is holding the tunnel steady at 250 cfs. Its probably not going to go up in the near future. Denver Water mentioned that if they need more water they will pull out of cheeseman vs. the tunnel to keep cheeseman and lake dillon balanced. If demand drops, they will drop it from the tunnel. So for the near term, 250 out of the tunnel is as good as its gonna get... which was pretty awesome last night! Love it!


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## deepsouthpaddler (Apr 14, 2004)

Looks like rain and cool weather made DW do a rare late day change. They dropped the tunnel to 200 today.


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## deepsouthpaddler (Apr 14, 2004)

7/26 update...

Just got off the phone with Denver Water, but unfortunately, I got the person who didn't know what was going on. DW turned down the tunnel late yesterday, and they turned down cheeseman outflow today. Quick chat with the DW staff thought that they might have gotten the cuts that they needed. Rain and cool weather dropped demand, thus they cut back.

I will see if I can get in touch with DW later today, but I'm headed to gore in a few mins and might not catch them before I am out.

Looking at the weather forecast, its cooler with some t-storm potential. Hard to say what the tunnel will do over the weekend. Best options are to check the gauge for AM changes which typically happen around 9-10am. Gauge changes take 2-3 hours to hit the bailey put in.


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## deepsouthpaddler (Apr 14, 2004)

DW cutting the tunnel back 25 to 175. But gore is at a great flow!


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## deepsouthpaddler (Apr 14, 2004)

7/29 update...

Denver Water is holding the tunnel steady today at ~175. They told me that they think that they have a decent chance of going down tomorrow with the cool and rainy weather we are having. Right now bailey is a couple cfs below my post drought min of 240. 

I'll check in with DW to see what they are doing tomorrow.


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## deepsouthpaddler (Apr 14, 2004)

7/30 update...

Denver Water is turning down the tunnel today. The DW contact I spoke with thought that they were turning it down 50 cfs to 125 cfs, but wasn't 100% sure. I see that the tunnel just started dropping so that seems correct. Either way, its way below most folks minimum.

With warm weather and lower % chance of t-storms for later in the week, I would expect the tunnel to come creeping back up over the next couple of days.


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## deepsouthpaddler (Apr 14, 2004)

7/31 update...

Denver Water turned up the tunnel 75 cfs to 200 cfs total. About 240 in the north fork at bailey. Hard to say where it will go from there. We are in the midst of the monsoon weather pattern. If we get storms that dump precip in Denver or increase flows in the river, the tunnel could go down. If we don't get much precip in Denver, then the tunnel could hold steady or go up.

I'm hoping for another bump. Keep your fingers crossed.


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## deepsouthpaddler (Apr 14, 2004)

8/1 update...

DW turned up the tunnel to 250 cfs today! Yeah! I was really hoping for a bump today. 

No word on how long it will last... all depends on monsoon afternoon storms. Enjoy it while it lasts!

P.S. See you at Bailey Fest in a week!


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## KSC (Oct 22, 2003)

The Colorado Paradox: 
more rain = less water in the river


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## deepsouthpaddler (Apr 14, 2004)

Yes, the colorado paradox is true. When it rains, its not enough to get the rivers flowing, but its enough to turn the tunnel off.

The other day was the anniversary of the big thompson flood though... so occasionally (like 1 in 10,000 yrs) there are some big ones.


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## deepsouthpaddler (Apr 14, 2004)

8/5 update...

Denver Water turned down the tunnel to 200 cfs today. Lots of rain this past weekend. Cool weather is forecast wednesday. Could be a low flow week prior to the Fest.


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## deepsouthpaddler (Apr 14, 2004)

8/7 update...

DW is not planning on making any changes to the tunnel today. That could change if we get a lot of rain. The rain is mainly forecast to be more south of the Denver area.

DW has come up with an operational plan to deliver flows during the fest. Exact details will depend on the next couple of days of weather, precip, reservoir levels, and river calls... but DW thinks that they will turn the tunnel to around 300-350 during the Fest this weekend. Should mean nice med/low flows in the 340-390 range.

Turn it up!
See you at the Fest!


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## deepsouthpaddler (Apr 14, 2004)

7/16 update...

Denver water turned down the tunnel by 50 cfs to 150cfs. Too low, but gore is in. Hoping we get some more late season bailey days.


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## kayaker (Oct 29, 2003)

Hey now! Where is the water? Its 192cfs today and holding.... What gives?

TURN IT ON! ..... AND LEAVE IT ON.....
We are headed to Bailey today anyways... need a shuttle too. Look for a naked woman by the side of the road, then pick her up. Thank you.


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## deepsouthpaddler (Apr 14, 2004)

8/19 update...

Denver Water turned up the tunnel to 200 cfs today. Should be about mid 200's in the north fork. Weather is forecast to be hot this week, so maybe we will get some more water to bump up the flows? Keep an eye on the gauges.


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## deepsouthpaddler (Apr 14, 2004)

8/20 update...

Denver Water said that they were holding the tunnel steady at 200 cfs today. Levels in strontia springs reservoir are climbing meaning, so they are delivering more water than they actually need now. The hot weather today might bump up demand so that they don't have to cut back tomorrow.


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## NYourd (Mar 29, 2013)

Question, is there a number to call to ask what the projected flows out of the tunnel will be? Also, the guys at DW seem cool as they gave us awesome flows for bailey fest, so I don't want to be that annoying kayaker constantly bothering them about flows. Are there some conditions I can look for that might allude to them releasing boatable flows? Hoping for some weekend laps.


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## stubby (Oct 13, 2003)

This is the best spot to find out what the flows will be for he NF. Ian calls every day and talks to the peeps there and will try and get indicators for the weekend as it gets closer. If its super hot and dry, then chances are there will be some water coming through the tunnel...unless they're pulling it down via cheeseman. Hard to predict what flows will be though on any given day more than two days out.


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## deepsouthpaddler (Apr 14, 2004)

Check here for flows as other Ian mentioned. I'm the annoying kayaker that calls up Denver Water to bug them about flows. I post here so Denver Water gets one call instead of 100. Predicting flows is very hard to do but in general hot weather means more flows, rain means less flows. There are so many operational variables that come into play that you really can't predict what will happen with the tunnel. Denver Water really can't predict it either, and they operate the tunnel on a reactive basis in response to changes in metro water demand, south platte river water calls, rain, reservoir conditions, maintenance etc.

Denver Water turned down the tunnel to 150 cfs yesterday, even though they told me they weren't making a change in the AM. Bummer. Today they told me they are balancing out cheeseman and dillon reservoir levels, so they are pulling harder from cheeseman (260 cfs) than the tunnel (150 cfs). Given that the weather is cooling off a bit, we are still in drought restrictions, and they are balancing the reservoirs, I think its pretty unlikely that we get flows bumped up on the north fork in the near term for the rest of this week and this weekend. Of course thats OK, because gore race is this weekend, and gore is at a nice flow.


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## NYourd (Mar 29, 2013)

Thanks Ian's that's helpful!


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## Jefe (Jul 27, 2007)

Looks like the rain may have bumped up NFSP. Bailey is at 268 but the tunnel is holding at 149 catch it while you can.


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## deepsouthpaddler (Apr 14, 2004)

Denver Water cut the tunnel back this morning. Gauge is showing 108 on the tunnel and its still dropping. Called Denver Water, but didn't get them on the line. The cut back cheeseman outflow as well. My guess is that the rain bump on river flows brought in more water, and the rain in town dampened demand, so they are going down on tunnel flows. With the tunnel around 100, and Denver Water's desire to bring more out of cheeseman than dillon to balance out reservoir volumes, I think the north fork will be too low this weekend. Gore is at 1200 though, and the race will be a hoot this weekend. Gotta love the gore / bailey late season combo!


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## deepsouthpaddler (Apr 14, 2004)

9/4 update...

DW expects to hold the tunnel steady at 150 cfs. Power trip cause the blip today. DW plans to run the tunnel this winter at low flows so they are taking more out of cheeseman now. I'd expect the current trend to continue for the near term. 

Thankfully gore is running a great flows.


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## deepsouthpaddler (Apr 14, 2004)

9/5 update...

DW turned up the tunnel to 200 cfs, up 50 cfs from yesterday. Should put flows in the north fork right around 300ish. Thats a nice low flow for september. Get it while its lasts. DW thinks it might stay as is for the next coulple of days of hot weather. As always, things can change daily with demand, weather etc. Yesterday they thought they would ride at 150, but demand must have gone up.

Enjoy!


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## deepsouthpaddler (Apr 14, 2004)

DW is holding the tunnel steady today at around 200 cfs. Bailey is 280ish, which is low, but good enough for me. 

DW thinks that they will likley hold the tunnel where it is over the weekend, unless some big rains come and change demand / inflow. There is a slight chance that hot weather will bump up demand a bit and they could bump it up a little (20-50 cfs).


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## kayaker (Oct 29, 2003)

*lets go*

I'm in. Lets go. Hit me on the cell 3.250.5sixtwo4


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## ednaout (Jun 3, 2005)

Hey Ian...I just have to ask....do you think there will be any reason to release any water in the near future?


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## deepsouthpaddler (Apr 14, 2004)

Tunnel is done for the year. Rains filled up all Denver water reservoirs, which are currently 97% full. DW was going to run the tunnel all winter at low flows but now they dont need to. So, no tunnel flows this year unless something unpredictable happens. 

I'll start the updates next year. Have a great winter and pray for snow!


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## chrispy (Apr 6, 2004)

Now I lay me down on the pillow... I pray the lord for more snow.


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## Dave Frank (Oct 14, 2003)

Ian, with all the lower reservoirs so full, might it be worth pursue the powers that be for some of them to do a recreational release?

Maybe a chatfield release for some union action or even the chatfield wave?

I wonder if Barker res in Ned even wants to be full for winter. Kind of unprecedented, really.

What other reservoirs down along the front range have recreational opportunities with this new found abundance?


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## deepsouthpaddler (Apr 14, 2004)

Probably limited rec opportunities Dave. Releases in colorado typically will only happen if someone downstream needs the water and water demand is low right now. Water managers love full reservoirs and they will try to keep them as full as possible in case of a drought snow year. Chatfield is tough because its got the army corp of engineers involved in the operation. Long story short... Not any likely release candidates that could get rec opportunities.


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