One of Colorado’s most popular rivers for rafting and angling is getting a last-minute boost of water to support fishery health and recreation through the tail end of the drought-stricken summer.

Flows on the Arkansas River have trended toward record lows most of summer, according to state data. As water levels have continued to drop, the Southern Colorado Water Conservancy District approved a cooperative effort Aug. 6 to dedicate 2,500 acre-feet — or 815 million gallons — of water to the Upper Arkansas River.

“We’ve known that things were going to be bad this year on our rivers this late in summertime for a long time, but it takes the kind of conditions we’re seeing for people to really get creative about how to use some water,” said Blake Mamich, the program director for the Colorado Water Trust. “In this case, we were able to do a quick deal and get some water in the river.”

The Upper Arkansas River begins near Leadville and flows through mountain towns like Buena Vista and Salida. Browns Canyon, a scenic 10-mile stretch of the river, is one of the nation’s most popular whitewater rafting destinations. The river also offers Gold Medal Fishing, a state designation reserved for rivers that consistently provide exceptional trout fishing opportunities for anglers.

The additional releases from the Twin Lakes Reservoir will send the water — equivalent to about 1,230 Olympic sized swimming pools — to the Pueblo Reservoir through November, according to a news release. The influx of water began flowing through the Arkansas River earlier this month as a result of the effort.

The quick cooperation to send more water flowing through the river is a response to community concerns for the river’s health amid the historic drought Colorado is facing after last winter’s record-low snowpack, Mamich said. Reports show that flows on the Upper Arkansas River have been less than one-quarter of the historical average for most of the summer.

“Basically, morale in the Arkansas Basin was getting pretty low,” he said.

One of the main purposes of the water releases is to help fish and aquatic wildlife in the river amid historically low flows, according to the news release.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife Upper Arkansas River Basin Aquatic Biologist Alex Townsend explained that increased flows will help keep important habitat and foraging areas available for fish and invertebrates in the river, leading up to the fall brown trout spawning. 

“We are experiencing unprecedented low flows and high water temperatures on the Upper Arkansas River this year, and it’s crucial to find ways to help protect the river for its fishery and recreational value,” Townsaid said.

The water releases will also help moderate warming water temperatures that can stress trout species, Townsend said. While the state wildlife agency hasn’t formally issued a voluntary fishing closure on the Upper Arkansas River, he said it’s “still prudent” to fish in the mornings when waters are cool, rather than the evenings when the water is warm.

Despite the low flows, Townsend said the Arkansas River has proved to be “an amazingly resilient river ecosystem” and remains “in good health” with a productive fishery. He said Colorado Parks and Wildlife continues to monitor water temperatures and dissolved oxygen levels in the river to gauge fish stress.

“We have been contacting guides and outfitters for a boots-on-the-ground perspective of the fishery on a regular basis,” Townsend said. “This allows us to get reports of fish health from multiple segments of river each day.”

While ecosystem health was a primary focus of the effort to release more water to the Arkansas River, the partners involved also hope it will help keep the rafting industry afloat through the tail end of the summer.

Performance Tours owner Kevin Foley, who has been rafting on the Arkansas River for more than 40 years, said that flows on the river have been lower this year than the two historic drought years of 1981 and 2002.

“I think the entire rafting industry in Colorado is going to be down a little this summer,” Foley said. “It stands to reason that fewer people are going to raft than normally with conditions like these, when they come to realize that the trips aren’t really offering extreme whitewater with big waves and powerful hydraulics. Some of that crowd didn’t show up this summer.”

Rafting companies worked to give guests the “best possible” experience by highlighting scenery, history and geology as well as the joys of being on the river on a hot day, Foley said. Even so, he said the water levels have continued to drop.

Foley said the water releases announced this month will add about 30 cubic feet of water for rafters to enjoy — not enough to create splashy whitewater in most places, but enough to help keep boats from dragging along the bottom in shallower spots.

“You know, 30 (cubic feet per second) normally doesn’t seem like a lot of water,” he said. “But when the rivers are at a lower flow, like they have been lately, that makes a big difference.”

The federal Bureau of Reclamation, the Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District, the Colorado Water Conservation Board, Colorado Parks and Wildlife and the Colorado Water Trust were involved in organizing the water releases.

Mamich said the effort to release more water into the Arkansas River came together at a rapid pace that’s unusual in the bureaucratic world of water law and reservoir management, where deals can take months or even years to come to fruition.

“That’s not the speed of water in Colorado. It’s usually incredibly slow to do deals like this, and we got this thing done in less than a month — water in the river,” he said. “It’s a pretty special scenario. When you have catastrophic drought, it kind of forces the hand on some things.”

The partners had originally intended to move the water through a process known as an “expedited instream flow loan,” Mamich said. But he said it was determined that the water district already had the right to move the water, which resulted in the water flowing at least 25 days sooner than it would have through the loan process.

Mamich said the effort involves reimbursing water rights holders on the Arkansas River for the water. The Colorado Water Trust, with financial support from Niagara Cares, plans to donate $100,000 toward the effort, while the Colorado Water Conservation Board will provide $60,000 and Colorado Parks and Wildlife will provide $50,000, according to the news release.

“This effort demonstrates what’s possible when water users, conservation organizations and state partners come together to respond quickly to emerging needs,” Colorado Water Conservation Board Director Lauren Ris said in a statement. “Through this collaborative project, we’re helping protect the river while supporting the communities, recreation and resources that depend on it.