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Meadow Creek Reservoir to be drained

Sky-Hi New Staff Report

Denver Water is draining Meadow Creek Reservoir to allow for a thorough inspection and upgrades to the 42-year-old dam.

The reservoir, which is currently about 30 percent full, will be lowered to about 6 percent full within the first two weeks of October.

The U.S. Forest Service, which manages recreation at Meadow Creek Reservoir, says the area will remain open to recreation during the project and while the reservoir is drained. Reservoir fishing, canoeing and kayaking will still be allowed, but the opportunities will be limited because of the extremely low water level. Hunting, hiking, camping and other recreational opportunities at Meadow Creek Reservoir will not be impacted.



While the inspection and project are expected to be completed by mid-November, the timing of when the reservoir will be refilled will depend on the amount of snowfall and timing of snowmelt during the 2017 spring runoff season.

An inspection of the intake structure at the bottom of the dam is required every 10 years. While the reservoir is drawn down for this assessment, Denver Water is replacing two valves that cannot be accessed when there are normal levels of water in the reservoir. The new valves will greatly improve the reliability and safety of the dam.



With a capacity of 5,370 acre-feet, Meadow Creek Reservoir, located approximately 13 miles northeast of Fraser is used to deliver water to the north end of Denver’s water system.

Typically, the reservoir is about half full this time of year. Most of the additional water drained from the reservoir will be captured in Gross Reservoir, and the rest will flow into Meadow Creek.


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