1 Jul 2015

Releases from Tri-Lakes Dams ramping down

Releases for all three Tri-Lakes Dams will start ramping down this week as the flood pools continue to be evacuated. Chatfield Dam reduced releases on June 30 from 3,000 to 2,500 cubic feet per second, and on July 1 Cherry Creek Dam will drop releases from 250 cfs to 50 cfs. On July 2, Chatfield Dam will further reduce releases to 1,800 cfs and Bear Creek Dam releases will be reduced from 350 to 225 cfs. Releases will hold steady through the holiday weekend.

22 Jun 2015

Chatfield Dam to temporarily lower release rate

At the request of local authorities and in coordination with the State of Colorado, the release from Chatfield Dam will be reduced temporarily from 3000 cubic feet per second to 1000 cfs tomorrow morning and will be increased back to 3000 cfs by early afternoon. The release reduction will drop the South Platte River by about one foot from the dam through Denver, Colorado but will go back up tomorrow evening. The public is urged to adhere to warnings from local authorities and stay out of the river when river levels and flows are high.

17 Jun 2015

Forecast to return Tri-Lakes Dams to normal pool levels

The release at Chatfield Dam will be increased today from 2,500 cubic feet per second to 3,000 cfs. Releases remain unchanged at Cherry Creek Dam at 100 cfs and at Bear Creek Dam at 500 cfs until next week. Following the release change at Chatfield Dam, the combined releases from the Tri-Lakes Dams will be 3,600 cfs.

15 Jun 2015

Releases from Colorado’s Tri-Lakes Dams impacted by recent rain

Recent rainfall has kept local runoff downstream of the Tri-Lakes Dams high along the South Platte River and its contributing creeks downstream of Denver. Tributary flows have peaked after recent rainfall and are starting to recede. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District in coordination with the State of Colorado will hold releases at Bear Creek Dam to 500 cubic feet per second and at Cherry Creek Dam to 100 cfs. Releases from Chatfield dam will be increased today and again Tuesday. Releases were cut back last week to mitigate flood risk downstream from the dams.

12 Jun 2015

Heavy Rain in CO means more releases changes for Tri-Lakes Dams

Heavy rain, which fell Thursday night, increased stages along Bear Creek, Cherry Creek, and the South Platte River downstream from the Tri-Lakes Dams.Releases at Chatfield Dam will be held at 1000 cfs through the weekend and will be gradually increased next week as downstream flows recede. Releases from Bear Creek Dam also remain at 200 cfs to allow flows on Bear Creek downstream of the dam to recede and will likely be increased on Saturday to 500 cfs. Releases from Cherry Creek Dam will be held at 50 cfs today due to high flows on Cherry Creek between the dam and the South Platte River. Releases will likely be increased to 100 cfs tomorrow to allow for future flexibility for flood risk management at the dam.

11 Jun 2015

Releases from Tri-Lakes Dams reduced to accommodate rainfall

In anticipation of forecast rainfall today, releases from Chatfield and Bear Creek Dams will be reduced to mitigate flood risk in the Denver area. In anticipation of forecast rainfall today, releases from Chatfield and Bear Creek Dams will be reduced to mitigate flood risk in the Denver area. At Bear Creek Dam, releases will be reduced from 500 cfs to 200 cfs this afternoon. At Cherry Creek Dam, releases remain unchanged at 50 cfs.

29 May 2015

Releases at Tri-Lake Dams changing to reduce reservoir pool elevations

Cooler temperatures the past week have slowed the mountain snowmelt runoff into Bear Creek and Chatfield Reservoirs in the Denver area. However, pool elevations at Bear Creek and Chatfield Reservoirs are expected to rise as temperatures rebound and the mountain snowmelt runoff continues.

21 May 2015

Releases from Tri-lakes dams changing but steady through Denver

With increased water flowing into Chatfield Reservoir, water managers with the Omaha District, in conjunction with the state of Colorado, are increasing releases from Chatfield Dam and reducing releases from Cherry Creek Dam to keep overall system releases steady. All Tri-Lakes releases will continue to be adjusted based on reservoir and hydrologic conditions. Chatfield Reservoir currently has 5.3 percent of its flood pool occupied with inflows above 2100 cfs and the release at 2050 cfs. Bear Creek Reservoir currently has 31.1 percent of its flood pool occupied with inflows around 670 cfs and a release of 500 cfs. Cherry Creek Reservoir has 1.7 percent of its flood pool occupied with inflows around 100 cfs and a release of 100 cfs. Chatfield and Bear Creek Reservoirs are currently rising and Cherry Creek Reservoir is slowly dropping.

15 May 2015

Tri-Lakes Dams capture 25,000 acre feet of runoff

Heavy rain and mountain snowmelt runoff since the beginning of May have produced high flows along the South Platte River in Colorado and its contributing tributary streams. The three Denver-area dams operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District and referred to as the Tri-Lakes Projects are Chatfield, Cherry Creek, and Bear Creek Dams. These three reservoirs have captured a combined 25,000 acre-feet of flood water during this period. The combined storage capacity of these three reservoirs is nearly 314,000 acre feet of water.

14 May 2015

Tri-Lakes Dams catching runoff from last week's storms

Runoff from last week's precipitation in Colorado is causing elevated pool levels at the Tri-Lakes dams that are owned and maintained by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District. Bear Creek, Chatfield, and Cherry Creek Dams make up the Tri-Lakes Projects and are not experiencing any dam safety issues from the recent heavy precipitation which fell in the Central Rocky Mountains region. As part of a system operations plan to evacuate flood storage, releases from the Tri-Lakes dams are as follows: Bear Creek - 500 cubic feet per second (cfs); Cherry Creek - 250 cfs; Chatfield - increasing from 1500 cfs to 1900 cfs today.