Last Updated: May 8, 2026

Notification - dated 5/8/2026

Starting May 11, 2026, flows from Flaming Gorge Dam will begin decreasing from the larval trigger study plan peak release. This decrease will continue until May 14, 2026, when flows will stabilize at a daily average of 1,100 cfs.

This release plan is subject to change depending on evolving river conditions and weather forecasts.

Those recreating on, working around, or traveling to the Green River below Flaming Gorge Dam should monitor river conditions.

View hourly water release schedules for Flaming Gorge Dam by visiting the Colorado River Basin Forecast Center website: GRZU1

Current Status

As of May 7, 2026 (end of day), Flaming Gorge Reservoir pool elevation is 6019.99 feet, which amounts to 79 percent of live storage capacity. Unregulated inflow volume for the month of April is approximately 51,190 acre-feet (af), which is 41 percent of the average unregulated inflow volume.

The May unregulated inflows into Flaming Gorge for the next three months projects to be much below average. May, June, and July forecasted unregulated inflow volumes are 70,000 af (28 percent of average), 175,000 af (45 percent of average), and 84,000 af (42 percent of average), respectively.

Drought Response Actions

Between 660,000 and one million acre-feet of additional water is being delivered from Flaming Gorge Reservoir to Lake Powell through April 2027 to help keep Lake Powell above critical elevations.

When these supplemental releases began, Flaming Gorge Reservoir was approximately 82% full, holding approximately 3.01 maf of water.

Reclamation and its partners are working to reduce recreational impacts as much as possible.

Recreationists below Flaming Gorge Dam should review posted information, closely monitor changing conditions, and use extreme caution when recreating in or around the Green River below Flaming Gorge Dam. Water will be colder than usual and will run high and swift during periods of elevated releases.

These actions are part of the Drought Response Operations Agreement (DROA), a component of the 2019 Colorado River Drought Contingency Plan for the Upper Colorado River Basin. To read more about the need for 2026-2027 supplemental releases, visit: Reclamation Acts to Protect Colorado River System During Historic Drought.

Reclamation previously implemented DROA operations in 2021 and 2022.

Helpful Links

• To view the most current reservoir elevation, content, inflows and releases, visit: Flaming Gorge Reservoir Data.
• For more information about boat ramp elevations and operability, visit: U.S. Forest Service: Flaming Gorge Recreation Updates.
• For information about flows below the dam, visit the Colorado Basin River Forecast Center’s GRZUI Reservoir Outflow Hydropgraph: GRZU1

Please note that the CBRFC data is in Zulu time, which is 6 hours later than Mountain Daylight Time.
For additional Green River flows, see the gage links on the right-hand side of this webpage under ‘Streamflow Data.’

For additional questions, please contact Upper Basin Public Affairs at ucbpao@usbr.gov or (385) 285-6506.

Working Group Meetings

The next Flaming Gorge Working Group meeting is scheduled for TBD, August, 2026. The Flaming Gorge Working Group is an open public forum for information exchange between Reclamation and the stakeholders of Flaming Gorge Dam. The public is encouraged to attend and comment on the operations and plans presented by Reclamation at these meetings. Meeting notes from past Working Group meetings are posted on the Working Group webpage. For more information on this group and these meetings please contact Alex Pivarnik at 385-475-8329.

Past working group meeting summaries can be accessed on the  Working Group pages.