Boaters can now mark their calendars for the first weekend in June to take a trip down the Lower Dolores River.
According to the Dolores Water Conservancy district website, cooler weather and lower-than-expected inflows pushed the projected start of the spill from Memorial Day weekend to the weekend after. They expect to have a single combined spill instead of two smaller spills, which will allow for a higher-velocity release, longer trips and less down-river congestion.
The site says that warmer weather could also accelerate the start of the spill by a few days, which would create variable releases between 1200 to 2000 cubic feet per second. Releases from the dam will be made based on Dolores River inflow less agricultural and other water rights diversions, all of which will vary with weather and daytime fluctuations.
The Dolores River Boating Advocates have noticed several changes downstream since the last spill in 2011. They’ve identified a new very large boulder upstream of the Dove Creek pumps and some overgrown campsites. The usual Slickrock put-in and take-out is also not available, but an alternative one has been developed. More details about the changes and other information about lower Dolores boating conditions can be found at http://doloresriverboating.org/ or on the group’s Facebook page.
Update as of 5/27/16: The boating spill is set to happen on June 5th or 6th. Click here for more details.
