LOVELAND, Colo. – The Bureau of Reclamation will begin refilling Lake Estes and Marys Lake in Estes Park, Colorado the week of December 19, 2022, following maintenance on Olympus Dam and the East Portal of the Adams Tunnel.
Since early October, water levels in Lake Estes have remained at an elevation of 7460 feet. Reclamation will raise the level to 7472 feet, an increase of 12 feet. These reduced water levels allowed Reclamation to install upgraded controls in Olympus Dam.
At the same time, work in the East Portal of the Adams Tunnel has prevented water from being moved from through the tunnel to Marys Lake. Maintenance to Marys Lake Powerplant, including a unit runner replacement and turbine overhaul, continues to move forward with an expected completion in summer 2023. This work will improve efficiency and reliability and reduce outages at the plant.
“Maintenance related outages are a necessary part of our work,” said Charles Files, Powerplant Supervisor in the Estes-Marys Lake Section of Reclamation’s Eastern Colorado Area Office. “While low reservoir levels can sometimes cause concern, these lower levels are related to maintenance rather than the larger water supply issues in the western United States.”
Media inquiries or general questions about Reclamation and its maintenance procedures should be directed to Anna Perea, Public Affairs Specialist, at 970-290-1185 or aperea@usbr.gov. If you are deaf, hard of hearing or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.
The Colorado-Big Thompson Project (C-BT) is one of the largest and most complex natural resource developments undertaken by the Bureau of Reclamation. C-BT stores, regulates, and diverts water from the Colorado River west of the Continental Divide to provide supplemental irrigation water for 615,000 acres east of the Rocky Mountains. It supplements the municipal and industrial water supply and provides recreation for more than 1 million residents in Northeastern Colorado. It also produces enough electricity to power nearly 68,000 households.
