Granby spillway sees highest flow since 2016
Tara Alatorre/Sky-Hi News
The Granby spillway is roaring with some of the highest flows since 2016 thanks this year’s heavy snowmelt that produced a higher-than-normal spring runoff across Colorado, according to the National Weather Service.
Last weekend the spillway reached almost 2,100 cubic feet per second during its peak flow, which includes water releases from the Granby Dam into a channel west of the spillway.
Jeff Stahla, the public information officer for Northern Water, explained that the highest flow for the spillway is approximately 2,100 cfs.
The spillway last flowed in 2019.
“We (Northern Water) did run water over the spillway in 2019, but this is the most since 2016,” Stahla stated in an email to Sky-Hi News.
Stahla says water will be running over the spillway for the next couple of weeks, but the level of water flowing will fluctuate.
The spillway can be seen while driving across the Granby Dam on County Road 6, however there is no stopping on the dam.
Northern Water operates Granby Dam and spillway jointly with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.
Tara Alatorre is the editor of Sky-Hi News. You can reach her at 970-557-6031 or talatorre@skyhinews.com.
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