CFP Voices: Yampa River Flow Pilot Project

The 2021 and 2022 Yampa River Flow Pilot Project funds releases from Elkhead Reservoir, while also collecting data to analyze and understand the impact of such releases. This pilot project is the beginning of a collaborative effort to secure water supplies in the Yampa River Basin for historic water users, while enhancing river flows for the endangered fish and recreational water users.
In 2021, the 1,500 acre-feet of water released from Elkhead benefited both the critical downstream fish habitat and downstream irrigators as it prevented a call from being placed on the mainstem Yampa for all but three days. The effort demonstrated the value of strategic and collaborative stored water releases to benefit all Yampa River water users during a time of drought.
This video is the third in a series of vignettes designed to tell the stories of the people behind the water projects representing the innovation, community and resilience which abounds across the Western Slope of Colorado.