Rio Grande Basin water today
Today's figures for Division 3 of the Colorado Division of Water Resources: river calls, flows, reservoirs, snowpack and drought, each with its source and time.
River flows
| Gauge | cfs | % of median | Source | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rio Grande near Del Norte | 927 | — | DWR | Oct 4, 2026, 12:45 p.m. |
| Rio Grande at Alamosa | 18 | — | DWR | Oct 4, 2026, 1:30 p.m. |
| Conejos River near Mogote | 336 | — | DWR | Oct 4, 2026, 1:15 p.m. |
| Alamosa River below Terrace Reservoir | 66 | — | DWR | Oct 4, 2026, 1:30 p.m. |
DWR telemetry stations carry no daily median, so their percent of median is left blank.
Reservoirs
| Reservoir | Full | Storage (AF) | Capacity (AF) | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rio Grande Reservoir | 35% | 18,105 | 52,192 | Oct 3, 2026 |
| Platoro Reservoir | 37% | 22,078 | 59,571 | Oct 3, 2026 |
| Sanchez Reservoir | 2% | 2,450 | 103,151 | Oct 3, 2026 |
| Continental Reservoir | 60% | 16,130 | 26,716 | Oct 3, 2026 |
| Terrace Reservoir | 19% | 2,930 | 15,183 | Oct 3, 2026 |
All stream gauges in the Rio Grande basin
A page per gauge with its latest flow; 6 in the division.
Show all 6 gauges, by river
Counties in this basin
This week's drought by county, wholly or partly in Division 3: Alamosa · Archuleta · Conejos · Costilla · Hinsdale · Mineral · Rio Grande · Saguache · San Juan
About the Rio Grande basin
The Rio Grande basin is Division 3 of Colorado's seven water divisions. It takes in the Rio Grande basin, including the San Luis Valley, and its Division Engineer's office and water court sit in Alamosa. BasinMind follows conditions here at Alamosa, Monte Vista and Del Norte.
The division is split into 8 water districts, the units water commissioners administer day to day. The first two digits of a structure's WDID are its district (What is a WDID?).
- 20 Rio Grande
- 21 Alamosa La Jara
- 22 Conejos Creek
- 24 Culebra Creek
- 25 San Luis Creek
- 26 Saguache Creek
- 27 Carnero Creek
- 35 Trinchera Creek
BasinMind follows 5 reservoirs in the division, with the capacity it records for each: Rio Grande Reservoir (52,192 acre-feet), Platoro Reservoir (59,571 acre-feet), Sanchez Reservoir (103,151 acre-feet), Continental Reservoir (26,716 acre-feet) and Terrace Reservoir (15,183 acre-feet). The largest is Sanchez Reservoir; daily storage comes from Colorado DWR telemetry or Reclamation.
Colorado's deliveries to New Mexico and Texas under the Rio Grande Compact (1938) drive much of the administration here: DWR curtails diversions to meet that obligation. More in The Rio Grande Compact.
Water planning here runs through the Rio Grande Basin Roundtable of the Colorado Water Conservation Board.
Division 3's flows come largely from DWR telemetry, because USGS operates few main-stem gauges here, so percent-of-median figures are often blank. The valley's acequias hold some of the oldest rights in the state (Acequias in Colorado).
Each figure above carries the time its source stamped it. Percent of median compares today's flow with the median for this date over the gauge's record (cfs and acre-feet); a call shows how far down the priority list rights are being served on a stretch of river (What is a water call?).
More for this basin
Explainers
- What is a water call?
- Is my ditch in priority?
- Colorado's seven water divisions
- cfs and acre-feet
- Snowpack and SWE
- Reading the U.S. Drought Monitor
- The Rio Grande Compact
- Acequias in Colorado
Other basins
- South Platte · Division 1
- Arkansas · Division 2
- Gunnison · Division 4
- Colorado River · Division 5
- Yampa-White-Green · Division 6
- San Juan/Dolores · Division 7