Ruedi Reservoir is a reservoir on the
Western Slope of the
Continental Divide on the
Fryingpan River
The Fryingpan River is a tributary of the Roaring Fork River, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed March 18, 2011 in Eagle and Pitkin counties in Color ...
. It sits about upstream of the town of
Basalt, Colorado
Basalt is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule town located in Eagle County, Colorado, Eagle and Pitkin County, Colorado, Pitkin List of counties in Colorado, counties, Colorado, United States. The town populat ...
, near Aspen.
[U.S Department of the Interior: "Water and Power resources Service, Project Data." U.S. Government Printing Office, 1981] The reservoir is located within the
White River National Forest, and straddles the county line between
Pitkin County
Pitkin County is a county in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 17,358. The county seat and largest city is Aspen, Colorado, Aspen. The county is named for Colorado Governor Frederi ...
and
Eagle County.
The reservoir and the Ruedi Dam were built from 1964-1968 and are both owned and operated by the
United States Bureau of Reclamation
The Bureau of Reclamation, formerly the United States Reclamation Service, is a federal agency under the U.S. Department of the Interior, which oversees water resource management, specifically as it applies to the oversight and operatio ...
. One purpose of the reservoir is to help compensate for diversions to Colorado's East Slope, taken further up in the Fryingpan Basin as part of Reclamation's federal
Fryingpan-Arkansas Project. Another purpose of the reservoir is to provide water for West Slope interests.
The dam is located in Eagle County.
Ruedi stores approximately of water.
Water in the reservoir is released through Ruedi Dam down the Fryingpan primarily for municipal, industrial, and agricultural interests. A side benefit of the reservoir is recreation. Boating, fishing and camping are popular at the reservoir itself, while the downstream portion of the Fryingpan River has become well regarded as a Gold Medal fishery.
Typically, releases from Ruedi follow a seasonal pattern. The USGS page for streamflow below Ruedi Dam provides up-to-date information for water released to the Lower Fryingpan in cubic-feet-per-second
[http://nwis.waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv?09080400 USGS gauge page] measurements.
Hydroelectric power plant
A hydroelectric power plant that sits at the base of the dam produces 5.0 megawatts of electricity. Built in 1985, the plant supplies electricity to the
City of Aspen and is owned by the city.
See also
*
List of largest reservoirs of Colorado
References
External links
*
Ruedi Reservoir water levelsUSGS gauge page
{{Authority control
Buildings and structures in Pitkin County, Colorado
Lakes of Eagle County, Colorado
Lakes of Pitkin County, Colorado
Protected areas of Pitkin County, Colorado
Reservoirs in Colorado
Hydroelectric power plants in Colorado