December 2025, report produced by Uncompahgre Watershed Partnership for the Town of Ridgway
Introduction
The health of the Uncompahgre River through Ridgway, Colo., remained stable in 2025. No major human or natural events degraded the river beyond its condition from the past few decades, nor did any events greatly improve or restore water quality, riverine function, or water supply.
The Beaver Creek diversion reconstruction project, implemented in 2025, is significant to the Ridgway municipal water supply. The diversion, which brings water from Beaver Creek to the Ridgway Ditch, is being rebuilt due to catastrophic damage caused by August 2024 flooding. The project is expected to be completed in spring/summer 2026. Until then, the Town is using other water sources for its municipal supply. This is not impactful to the Uncompahgre River.
This year, the Town removed biosolids from its wastewater treatment ponds and was visited by Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE ) Wastewater Surveillance Unit staff, two events which are likely to protect or improve water quality in the Uncompahgre River. Additionally, the Town continues to share messages from the Growing Water Smart program with the community to promote water conservation that could also benefit the river.
The Town of Ridgway has a long history of working with and providing funding for the Uncompahgre Watershed Partnership (UWP), a Ridgway-based nonprofit focused on promoting stewardship of, monitoring, preserving, and restoring the natural, scenic and economic values of the Upper Uncompahgre River Watershed. In 2025, UWP implemented the following activities that directly benefited the Uncompahgre River in Ridgway through education, monitoring, and restoration: Colorado River Watch and River Corps data collection and analysis, Rollans Park Cleanup, Ridgway RiverFest, Uncompahgre Rubber Ducky Race, and Dallas Creek flow study.
Other UWP activities that either had indirect benefits or will result in long-term benefits to the Uncompahgre River through Ridgway were: data collection and analysis at the Uncompahgre Multibenefit Project (see the Appendix, section III); South Ouray Erosion Control Project and Love Your Gorge volunteer event along the Uncompahgre River in Ouray; watershed education and fundraising for future projects through RiverFest and the Fly Fishing Film Tour; public comments advocating for rivers and watersheds during a wide range of state and local policymaking processes; loan of watershed science supplies to local elementary school teacher; outreach to decisionmakers for the Idarado Consent Decree (a legal settlement requiring mine site remediation in the Red Mountain Mining District); and participation in the Ridgway Secondary School Career & Volunteer Fair, CDPHE Water Quality Division Visit, and Abandoned Mine Lands Field Trip with EPA, USFS, and Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining & Safety.
Uncompahgre River Use in Town Limits
Through the Town of Ridgway, the Uncompahgre River receives stormwater, wastewater, return flow from Dallas Creek diversion (Hyde-Sneva ditch), and inflow from the “Big Ditch.” Cottonwood Creek used to flow to the river, but in recent years, it has not reached Cottonwood Park.
The riparian areas along the river are important sources of habitat and food for wildlife. Diverse bird species reside year-round or during migration including raptors, water fowl, and song birds. Commonly seen terrestrial animals include beavers, deer, and red fox. Due to high metal concentrations in the river, few fish are found above Ridgway Reservoir but rainbow trout, brown trout, suckers, and kokanee salmon are present depending on season and conditions.
The Uncompahgre River Walk along the river from Ridgway to Dennis Weaver Park continues to grow in popularity for walkers, joggers, and bikers. The BLM park and Dennis Weaver Park provide public access to the river, so their preservation is essential. Improved boat/board/tube put ins/takeouts and informative signage would be useful for protection of the river.
The recreational use of the Uncompahgre River between Rollans Park and Ridgway Reservoir increased from May to August. Best Slope Adventures opened in June and ended its season with 600 inner tube rentals and 400 duckie (rubber kayak) rentals. Paddleboard use on the river ended early in the summer as flows dropped to a level not suitable for the boards. Swimmers, dogs, and inner tubers, including the Ouray County Tubers Alliance, were frequent users of the river throughout the summer. Some floaters exit the river close to downtown, while others float to Dennis Weaver Park and others end at the County Road 24 bridge or inside Ridgway State Park.
The banks of the Uncompahgre River at Rollans Park continue to erode due mainly to high-flow events and the meandering nature of the river in that area. The erosion is creating high banks, exposing large boulders meant to anchor the bank, and pushing a great deal of pebbles and stones downstream to other banks and bars. The rapid water feature in the park also continues to fill in with stones, decreasing its effectiveness.
The Town did excavation and rock moving in the river in March 2025, which made river recreation easier throughout the summer. However, by the end of October, due to continuous pressure from the water channelized by the highway bridge at the south end of the park, and due to major high-flow events in June and October, the eroded riverbanks and rock-filled channel returned to a similar condition to the start of 2025.
Bank erosion is also a conspicuous problem downstream, especially at the parking area adjacent to the San Miguel Power Association. Lateral migration toward the Riverwalk as well as bank steepness has become more notable after the June peak flow and October’s high flow event.
These river changes are not uncommon in our geography, where many rivers face increased erosion and detachment from the floodplain. This is both natural and anthropogenic, with changes in land use including development, ranching, and increasing water velocity, weather, and erosion.
The river is an important scenic feature for two residential developments in Ridgway. The 38-unit residential development, RiverFront Village, completed construction of many units northeast of the Highway 62 bridge in 2025, though other units closer to Highway 550 are still under construction. Riverside units were on sale throughout the year, and the first residents started moving in. Another development on the banks of the Uncompahgre River by Frontier Park, called The Preserve, is moving slowly through the design phase and has not broken ground. Of note, the town, county and developer are planning a sewer facility to avoid impacting water quality.
Water Quantity Highlights
Colorado River District staff reported on the 2025 Water Year in the Colorado River Basin at the Water Summit on October 3, 2025:
- Winter (Nov. 2024-March 2025) had normal snowpack to the north but it was much drier to south (including the Ridgway area)
- Spring (April-May 2025) was dry with a poor water supply outlook
- Summer (June-August) continued to be dry, with widespread fires in the basin (including a relatively small fire up Red Mountain Pass in June and much larger fires downstream: South Rim Fire along the Gunnison River in Montrose County from July to September and Sowbelly Fire in the Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area in Delta, Mesa, and Montrose counties from July to August
- Fall brought late-season monsoon pulses
- Overall Water Year 2025 Results: Warmer, drier than average, 9th driest and 7th warmest in this century
Uncompahgre River flows in cubic feet per second (cfs) from Oct. 1, 2024 to Sept. 30, 2025.The peak flow was on June 3 at 1,020 cfs. Late summer monsoons were absent but heavy precipitation raised flows in September and October. Winter flows dipped under 50 cfs.
UWP’s River Watch Report in November reported: The USGS stream gauge near Ridgway showed that discharge was well below the median curve for most of the summer. However, early September discharge increased to values approaching the median, and heavy rainfall in mid-October resulted in high flow events on several days. The Uncompahgre River rose to unusual highs in October, but did not experience the peak flows and catastrophic flooding that happened in counties south of Ouray County.
The Town of Ridgway implemented Stage 3 Water Restrictions on June 19, 2025, due to the dry conditions created by low snow and precipitation, as well as less access to water sources during the Beaver Creek Diversion Restoration Project. These restrictions limited the times and days of outdoor irrigation as well as requiring restaurants to only serve water upon customer request. The Town also turned off the non-potable water supply to the Town’s parks, including Hartwell Park and the Ridgway Athletic Park.
The 2026 Water Year began with no snowfall below 9,000 feet until late November. In this century, only three years have recorded the first measurable snowfall in November: 2003, 2014 and 2025, which occurred the latest of the three, according to an article by Karen Risch in the November 27, 2025 edition of the Ouray County Plaindealer. The late snowfall could impact the water levels in the Uncompahgre River in 2026, though potential heavy snowfall later in the winter and spring could result in a more positive water supply.
Water Quality Notes from UWP River Watch Data Collection
The long-term health of the Uncompahgre River and its tributaries is adversely affected by high concentrations of dissolved and suspended metals that enter streams from many sources, but primarily from natural weathering and erosion as well as inactive mines that are still actively discharging water. Aquatic life, from the smallest invertebrates to larger fish species, are impacted due to the presence of high metal concentrations. Fish are generally absent above Ridgway Reservoir, except for non-native bass, Kokanee salmon and cutthroat trout, which are often seen as far south as Ridgway during their seasonal upstream run in the fall.
Ridgway is located on the Uncompahgre River segment COGUUN03c, from Dexter Creek to the Dallas Creek confluence just above the reservoir. This segment was evaluated in 2022 by the Colorado Water Quality Control Division (WQCD) using data from 2015 through 2019, primarily collected by the Colorado Parks & Wildlife River Watch program.
UWP River Watch volunteers monitor the three water quality sites in segment COGUUN03c. The results of the 2022 evaluation by WQCD showed that all aquatic life and water supply standards for all metals were attained for this river segment. However, data collected by UWP at the River Watch site in Ridgway between 2022 and 2024 indicate that the water supply standard for total arsenic is likely exceeded, since about 91% of samples collected had concentrations that exceed the current standard of 0.02 µg/liter.
APPENDIX
Long-term Threats to Uncompahgre River Health
- Invasive aquatic species are threatening other rivers in the Upper Colorado River Basin. Zebra and Quagga mussels have been found in the Colorado River and spread to the Gunnison River in 2025. New Zealand mud snails are a similarly destructive species that have come as close as the Gunnison River. Both species multiply rapidly, devouring the food sources for other species and clogging waterways, and are now just 46 miles upstream from the Uncompahgre River.
- Climate change, drought, and aridification decrease snow accumulation and change the precipitation regime, which in turn reduces groundwater recharge, decreases the amount of water stored in reservoirs and lakes, and causes stream flows to fall below the rates needed to sustain watershed health and provide for various human uses. Reduced stream flows can contribute to elevated water temperatures, and increased metal concentrations, and even loading. Existing temperature data indicate that stream temperatures in the Uncompahgre Watershed remain cool enough to support aquatic life.
- Dust and microplastics in snow impact the rate and timing of snowmelt as well as water quality. While water treatment can improve the quality of public water supplies, the demands on the treatment processes are increasing.
- The risk of wildfires is an ongoing concern due to potential impacts to life, economic health, wildlife habitat, watershed health, and water supplies.
- Legacy mine sites with tailings, waste rock and open rock tunnels are a major source of acid drainage and metal pollution impacting water quality in the Uncompahgre River. Restoration projects have been difficult to implement due to insufficient funding, federal government instability, and liability issues.
Potential Changes in Uncompahgre River Health
- Invasive plants could become a threat. In Ridgway, the Uncompahgre River does not have a notable problem with Russian olive or tamarisk, two well-known invasive plants for other riparian areas including Montrose. Highly invasive Eurasian watermilfoil is also not found locally, though it is found around the state. Non-native thistle species, mullein and knapweed are commonly found in riverside parks but do not presently have a major impact on the river.
- Thorin Resources owns the Revenue-Virginius mine, related properties, and the Camp Bird mine site, along tributaries to the Uncompahgre River. The company has plans for some type of mining operation that could have potential negative impacts on water quality upstream of the Uncompahgre, though careful permitting and compliance could prevent those impacts. Thorin has been out of compliance with some of its reporting requirements during 2025.
- Crystal Reservoir is still drained of most water, except the small amount that accumulates below the drain pipe. Overall, the wetlands and fens did not appear to degrade further than their current state in 2025, so no downstream environmental and water quality impacts were anticipated.
- The Cow Creek Pipeline and Ramshorn Reservoir, filed as an application in December 2019 by Ouray County and partners, is now being pursued primarily by Tri-County Water Conservancy. They could not settle with several opposers so the case is headed to state water court in 2026. The proposal is to divert additional water into Ridgway Reservoir, which could benefit Tri-County’s dam operations. The Cow Creek diversions could benefit junior water rights holders in Ouray County as exchanges for continued water use from the Uncompahgre River that would otherwise be halted when downstream Uncompahgre Valley Water Users with senior rights put a call on that water. The proposed pipeline and reservoir operation may decrease Uncompahgre River flows through Ridgway, though no clear data has been presented to demonstrate whether decreases would happen or not. If river flows decreased through town, recreation at Rollans Park and downstream to the Reservoir could be impacted, and the town’s compliance with wastewater treatment regulations could also be affected. More data and analysis are necessary.
Uncompahgre River Health Protection & Restoration
- The City of Ouray’s new wastewater treatment facility has operated throughout 2025. The new facility has been testing effluent monthly and continues to meet state health and environment standards, which protect water quality in the Uncompahgre River.
- Land managers have been implementing information campaigns to reduce the risk of wildfire, and fire risk reduction measures. However, federal funding to some efforts was halted in 2025, so that progress has been stunted.
- The Uncompahgre Multibenefit Project, upstream of Ridgway, is aimed at improving agricultural ditch operation, reconnecting floodplains, and reestablishing native biodiversity. The majority of the project was completed in 2025 including a new headgate structure, major riverbed sculpting with boulders, and willow plantings. The riparian area is already showing improvement, and the ditch users can better manage their diversions. Water quality improvement and other benefits are yet to be known.
- In January 2025, a major grant application for multiple fen restoration projects, submitted by UWP and partners, was awarded U.S. Bureau of Reclamation funding, but the grant funds were frozen by the federal government. UWP continues to work toward implementing the project that could improve water quality and water retention upstream of Ridgway in the Ironton area of Red Mountain Pass.
