Vallecito Reservoir Water Level
Vallecito Reservoir is at 7,658.02 ft today (Oct 30), 6.98 ft below its 7,665 ft full pool, up 1.58 ft this week.
Colorado · Los Pinos River
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Water level history
About Vallecito Reservoir
Vallecito Reservoir is a reservoir on the Los Pinos River in Colorado, operated by U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. Its full summer pool sits at 7665 ft above sea level. Live water levels come from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (CWMS) and update hourly.
Understanding Vallecito Reservoir's water level
Vallecito is an irrigation reservoir first, and its level follows the farm calendar on the Pine River, which Reclamation lists as the Pine River (Los Pinos). The dam sits about 18 miles northeast of Durango, a mile and a half below where Vallecito Creek joins the Pine. The Bureau of Reclamation built it between 1938 and 1941 as the Pine River Project: an earthfill embankment 162 feet high and 4,010 feet long, operated ever since by the Pine River Irrigation District. The reservoir supplies supplemental water to about 65,000 acres downstream in La Plata and Archuleta counties, and a 1988 settlement recognized the Southern Ute Indian Tribe's share, a sixth of the reservoir plus Pine River water with an 1868 priority date. Snowmelt fills the lake in May and June, then irrigation releases draw it down through summer and into fall. Since 1990 the median gap between a year's high and low in Reclamation's daily record is about 34 feet, so a late September shoreline looks nothing like the one in late June.
Full pool, the top of the joint use pool, is 7,665.0 feet. The dam crest is at 7,673 and the gated spillway crest at 7,646. That upper spillway is now the reservoir's biggest constraint. A 2017 dye test showed water piping beneath its concrete, and Reclamation investigations later found voids as large as 4 by 10 feet under it. The spillway is considered unsafe to use except in a dire emergency, so operations were changed to keep the lake a foot below the radial gates at all times. Officials told the Durango Herald in February 2026 that repairs could cost more than $500 million and take two to four years once construction starts. In a big snow year this shows up as a spring drawdown. In 2023, with snowpack at 170 to 180 percent of normal, the dam was releasing about 800 cubic feet per second with the lake 31 percent full, clearing roughly 84,500 acre-feet of space ahead of runoff. It still topped out at 7,664.68 feet on 28 June.
The low years are remembered for more than the water. In 2002, at the peak of what was then Colorado's worst recorded drought, snowpack was 55 percent of normal and the Missionary Ridge Fire, which started 9 June, burned 73,000 acres and destroyed 47 homes and cabins. The Durango Herald recounts a fire whirl sweeping across the exposed reservoir bed and burning parked vehicles, campers and boats. From July through mid September the USGS logged ash, mud and debris flows off the burned slopes that repeatedly closed County Road 501 along the reservoir. The lake bottomed that year at 7,607.28 feet on 7 September, about 14,900 acre-feet. The opposite came in October 2025, when moisture from Hurricane Priscilla and Tropical Storm Raymond pushed Vallecito Creek to an apparent record 6,130 cubic feet per second and forced more than 380 homes north of the lake to evacuate. The reservoir climbed from 7,619 to 7,647 feet in about two weeks. Officials said it was manageable largely because the storm came after irrigation season, when the lake was low.
Vallecito Reservoir — frequently asked
What is Vallecito Reservoir's full pool elevation?
7,665.0 feet, the top of the joint use pool in Reclamation's dam data. The maximum water surface is 7,668.5 feet, the dam crest 7,673 feet, and dead storage tops out at 7,582.54 feet. Capacity figures vary by source: the Pine River Irrigation District lists 129,700 acre-feet total, while recent reporting uses about 125,000, and Reclamation's daily storage record reads about 125,600 acre-feet when the lake stands at 7,665 feet.
What is the record high level at Vallecito Reservoir?
The highest daily reading in Reclamation's record, which runs back to May 1941, is 7,665.5 feet on 27 July 1957, half a foot above full pool. Modern peaks sit just under full: 7,664.95 feet in June 2020, 7,664.89 in July 2019 and 7,664.68 in June 2023. With the upper spillway restricted, the district now keeps the lake a foot below the radial gates. The gauge on this page only keeps about six years of readings, so its high and low are recent marks, not these records.
What is the lowest Vallecito Reservoir has ever been?
Reclamation's daily record shows 7,584.1 feet on 24 October 1944, about 608 acre-feet and less than two feet above dead storage, during the reservoir's first years. Since then the low mark is 7,601.38 feet on 23 September 1977. The drought years came close: 7,607.28 feet on 7 September 2002 and 7,613.06 feet on 28 September 2018. Dam tender Mike Canterbury called 2002 and 2018 the lowest and second lowest water years on record.
Why is Vallecito Reservoir so low in late summer and fall?
Irrigation. The lake is filled by snowmelt and then drawn down all season to supply farms on roughly 65,000 acres downstream, so annual lows usually land in September or October. In July 2018 the lake was 40 percent full, dropping about 6,000 acre-feet a week, and the district pulled the courtesy dock. By October, releases were cut to about 5 cubic feet per second from a normal 30, idling the power plant.
When does Vallecito Reservoir refill?
Mostly in May and June, when snowmelt off the Pine River and Vallecito Creek drainages arrives. Average runoff inflow is about 177,000 acre-feet, several times the reservoir's size, so one good winter usually refills it. After 2002 the lake reached 7,664.77 feet by June 2004, and after the 2018 low it climbed to 7,664.89 feet by July 2019. Fall storms can help too, as October 2025 roughly doubled storage from about 28,000 to 56,000 acre-feet.
Is there a problem with Vallecito Dam's spillway?
Yes. A 2017 dye test found water piping beneath the upper spillway, and Reclamation later found voids up to 4 by 10 feet under the concrete. The spillway, with three radial gates and a concrete chute, is considered unsafe except in a dire emergency. Officials estimate repairs at potentially more than $500 million, with options including an in kind replacement, a straightened chute and a new emergency spillway. The federal government would cover about 85 percent.
What fish are in Vallecito Reservoir?
Colorado Parks and Wildlife lists rainbow trout, brown trout, northern pike, smallmouth bass and walleye, and the lake is stocked. CPW says Vallecito produced a state record northern pike in the past and trophy pike are still caught routinely. Rainbows reach quality size, and brown trout occasionally exceed 30 inches and 14 pounds. Boats must pass an invasive mussel inspection, and at low water the district has warned that launching is at your own risk.
Other lakes near Vallecito Reservoir
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- Chatfield ReservoirCO
- Paonia ReservoirCO
- Cherry Creek ReservoirCO
- Lemon ReservoirCO
See current levels for all 7 Colorado lakes and reservoirs →
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