Dillon Reservoir, the largest reservoir in the Denver Water system, will fill completely later this week, bringing a summer of green lawns and flowing taps to 1.5 million customers on the Front Range.
Data from Denver Water shows the reservoir today is within 1.5 feet of capacity. It has been filling at a rate of about one foot every two days for most of this month.
On June 12 Denver Water started releasing water into the Blue River below Dillon Dam, cranking outflows up to nearly 240 cubic feet per second. In the coming weeks outflows at the dam will nearly triple, to 700 cfs. Experts say that will not come close to flooding the banks downriver in Silverthorne.
The Blue River through Silverthorne flooded most recently in summer 2024. The in-town stretch was closed to boating but otherwise no serious impacts like injury or damage.
Peaking flows
Rivers draining into Dillon Reservoir have most likely peaked for summer.
The Tenmile Creek through Frisco hit a season high June 9 at 651 cfs. Today flows are cut nearly in half but still in line with historical average.
The Blue River above the reservoir peaked on June 4 at 273 cfs. Today it is flowing at 216 cfs, down from historical average by more than 145 cfs.