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Upper Uncompahgre River

Division 4 · Water District 68
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Upper Uncompahgre River on the ground — the ditches, wells, reservoirs and gages of Water District 68 · clicktap anything for its record

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

3% of normal flow, week of 2026-06-29
26 calls active on it right now

The Uncompahgre River is critically low for late June -- 3% of normal flow, its 3rd-driest such week in 114 years of record. 26 calls stand against it right now; the most senior right calling dates to 1878. This year's runoff outlook, issued 2026-06-01, called for 16% of normal.

Full diagnostic snapshot pending — this district's weekly-style report (system status, active calls, hydrographs, anomaly flags) is produced by the nightly rotation and appears here after its first run. The tabs above are live now.

Water quality

The water itself, in this district

Four registers, each on its own schedule: what USGS sensors read right now, where samples have been taken, which stretches the state lists as impaired, and how the tap water of the systems here stands with EPA. None is a DWR record; each links its own page.

Right now

Source Provisional telemetry · fetched 2026-09-13 · verify at USGS current conditions ↗

1 USGS sensor reports temperature, conductance, dissolved oxygen or turbidity from inside this district; provisional readings, never merged into the verified record.

SiteTemp °CCond µS/cmDO mg/LTurb FNUAs of
UNCOMPAHGRE RIVER AT COLONA, CO 11.2 681 8.4 17 2026-09-13 00:05

Where water has been sampled

Source Register of another agency · fetched 2026-09-09 · verify at Water Quality Portal ↗

The portal lists 956 sampling stations in this district's watershed (Uncompahgre 14020006), of which 64 reported a sample in the last 5 years on the state and tribal side (USGS activity is in the station count, not in that figure). Most active: Colorado River Watch (28), Colorado Dept. of Public Health & Environment-WQCD (State) (19), USGS Colorado Water Science Center (17). Most-sampled groups: Physical, Inorganics, Minor, Metals, Inorganics, Major, Metals, Nutrient. Every station as a file ↗

Results themselves are not fetched here; USGS samples added after March 2024 may not be in the portal's legacy profiles yet.

Drinking water

Source Register of another agency · fetched 2026-09-09 · verify at EPA SDWIS ↗

5 community systems touch this district. None carries an open health-based violation on EPA's record. EPA sampled 0 of them for PFAS in 2023–25.

SystemServesEPA recordPFAS (UCMR 5)Lead, latest 90th pct
OURAY CITY OF 1,460 10 of 12 quarters with a violation not sampled 0.0013 mg/L
DALLAS CREEK WC 1,059 4 of 12 quarters with a violation not sampled 0.002 mg/L
RIDGWAY TOWN OF 1,000 12 of 12 quarters with a violation not sampled 0.0051 mg/L
ELK MEADOWS ESTATES 230 11 of 12 quarters with a violation not sampled 0.0012 mg/L
DALLAS MEADOWS COMMUNITY ASSOC 120 12 of 12 quarters with a violation not sampled 0.001 mg/L

EPA's record carries violations and lead/copper percentiles; nitrate and disinfection by-product results are not in it. UCMR 5 samples are monitoring, not compliance, and the 2024 PFOA/PFOS limits equal its reporting limit, so any detection of those two is at or above them.

Impaired waters

Source Register of another agency · verify at EPA ATTAINS ↗

The state's 303(d) impaired-waters list has not been joined to this basin's own watershed boundary yet, so nothing is shown rather than a guess; the basins with a join carry the full list here. Why the join is geometry, not a name match.

Snowpack — no snow on the ground at 1 SNOTEL site — normal for the date; the snow year begins in October and typically peaks around April 6. Runoff outlook — Ridgway Reservoir Inflow: even odds of at least 14 kAF over 06-01 to 07-31 — 22% of a normal season, per NRCS, issued 2026-06-01 — the season’s final; new forecasts begin in January. Runoff outlook — Uncompahgre R at Colona : even odds of at least 12 kAF over 06-01 to 07-31 — 16% 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
Idarado9780 0.10.0 April 6 (14.4 in)

Ridgway Reservoir Inflow — 06-01 to 07-31 volume, thousand acre-feet (chance the volume is AT LEAST this):

90%70%50%30%10%Normal
612141722 61

Uncompahgre R at Colona — 06-01 to 07-31 volume, thousand acre-feet (chance the volume is AT LEAST this):

90%70%50%30%10%Normal
710121724 74

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: 16 parent disagreements (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 22 streams, 6 agree. Know this water? Tell us →

StreamThis site routes it toDWR routes it to
Canyon Creek the mainstem Uncompahgre River
Red Mountain Creek the mainstem Uncompahgre River
Happy Canyon Creek the mainstem Uncompahgre River
Horsefly Creek the mainstem Uncompahgre River
Cottonwood Creek the mainstem East Fork Horsefly Creek
McKenzie Creek the mainstem Uncompahgre River
Cow Creek the mainstem Uncompahgre River
Fisher Creek the mainstem Uncompahgre River
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