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Cache La Poudre River

Division 1 · Water District 3 · As of 2026-09-26 05:11 MDT · 2 weeks ago · also known as Poudre Canyon
Live · machine-built

Cache La Poudre River on the ground — the ditches, wells, reservoirs and gages of Water District 3 · clicktap anything for its record

Browse this district’s ditches, gages, reservoirs, wells and springs as a list.

18% of normal flow, week of 2026-09-21
3 calls the record places on it, 4 unsettled

The Cache La Poudre is critically low for late September -- 18% of normal flow. 3 calls stand against it right now; the most senior right calling dates to 1864. DWR's statements do not settle whether 4 more calls reach it.

Schematic

Historical

Evolution of the network

Hydrographs vs. historical envelope

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Snowpack — 4 SNOTEL sites report here. Runoff outlook — Cache La Poudre R at Canyon Mouth: even odds of at least 87 kAF over 06-01 to 09-30 — 51% of a normal season, per NRCS, issued 2026-06-01 — the season’s final; new forecasts begin in January. Full snow & runoff picture — charts, forecast history and how the forecasts have verified →

Sites, exceedance bands and sources
SNOTEL siteElev (ft)SWE (in)Median (in)% of medianTypical peak
Black Mountain8940 0.10.2 — April 17 (12.5 in)
Deadman Hill10240 0.10.6 — May 4 (21.8 in)
Hourglass Lake9380 0.00.2 — April 19 (13.0 in)
Long Draw Resv9980 0.00.4 — April 27 (18.3 in)

Cache La Poudre R at Canyon Mouth — 06-01 to 09-30 volume, thousand acre-feet (chance the volume is AT LEAST this):

90%70%50%30%10%Normal
68798796110 169

Snow-water equivalent and medians (1991–2020) from NRCS SNOTEL; seasonal volume forecasts from the NRCS National Water and Climate Center. Sites and forecast points are assigned to the district whose boundary contains them — snowpack that feeds this district can also sit in a neighboring headwater district. Toggle the Snow chip on the map above to see the sites.

Topology cross-check: 10 parent disagreements, 20 sizable streams not on this network (vs DWR's route framework — under review)

This flow network was built mechanically; DWR's Source Water Route Framework disagrees with it in the places below. Each row is a question a human reviewer has not yet answered — not an error verdict. Checked 26 streams, 16 agree. Know this water? Tell us →

StreamThis site routes it toDWR routes it to
Sheep Creek the mainstem North Fork Cache La Poudre River
Fish Creek the mainstem Dale Creek
Trail Creek the mainstem North Fork Cache La Poudre River
Rabbit Creek the mainstem North Fork Cache La Poudre River
Lone Pine Creek the mainstem North Fork Cache La Poudre River
South Lone Pine Creek the mainstem Lone Pine Creek
North Lone Pine Creek the mainstem Lone Pine Creek
Manhattan Creek the mainstem Elkhorn Creek

Sizable streams DWR maps here that this network does not carry:

Coalbank Creek (24 mi) · Fossil Creek (16 mi) · Owl Creek (11 mi) · Bennett Creek (11 mi) · Joe Wright Creek (11 mi) · The Slough (10 mi) · Spring Creek (8 mi) · Lewstone Creek (8 mi)

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