Heather Sackett here a special edition of The Runoff, the Aspen Journalism Water Desk newsletter, to give you a heads up that on Monday we published an investigative project examining water use of the Crystal River, questioning why it runs dry in certain years, including an interactive feature that tells the story of how much of the Crystal’s water is used. The project was a year in the making and reflects a true team effort: reporting by me, editing by AJ Editor and Executive Director Curtis Wackerle, number crunching and data visualization by AJ Data Editor Laurine Lasalle and additional editing and storytelling assistance from veteran Colorado River reporter and editor Luke Runyon as part of Aspen Journalism’s collaboration with the University of Colorado Water Desk. The final product is something we feel proud to share with readers and presents the clearest picture of water use on the Crystal that we could assemble based on publicly available information.
One thing this project uncovered (no surprise to most water experts) is that ditches on the Crystal are very inefficient, posing the question: Does the small amount of water used by the crops justify the large amounts diverted from the river, to the detriment of its ecosystem?
In thinking about why I originally wanted to do this project, I have to break the cardinal rule of journalism. I have an opinion: The Crystal is my favorite river. I admit I’m not an irrigator, not much of a boater nor an angler. But I splash through the Crystal’s headwaters hiking near Marble, soak in the pools of Penny Hot Springs, dip my toes in the Weaver Ditch in Sopris Park on a hot day and admire the elk herds munching on the fields of Crystal River Ranch, made green and lush by water from the Crystal. And in 2018, my first summer reporting for Aspen Journalism, the seed for this project was planted when I stood on the bridge by the fish hatchery under skies hazy with wildfire smoke, saw a dried-up Crystal that had dwindled to a trickle and wondered why that happened. I began trying to get to the bottom of that question and these are the results. As always, thanks for supporting Aspen Journalism’s nonprofit, in-depth, investigative reporting.
– Heather Sackett
Water Desk Editor and Reporter
In dry years, Colorado’s Crystal River runs at a trickle — but why?
By Heather Sackett | March 11, 2024
The factors that lead to a dry river bed are many and include unique geology, ill-defined legal concepts, misunderstandings about the value of water, inefficient irrigation systems and vague state guidelines regarding waste that seem to be enforced only under specific circumstances.
Crystal River mapping project
By Heather Sackett and Laurine Lassalle | March 11, 2024
Beginning high in the Elk Mountains, the Crystal River flows 40 miles through three counties, cutting a canyon under the flanks of Mount Sopris and winding past the towns of Marble, Redstone and Carbondale before joining with the Roaring Fork River. Along the way, its waters turn mesa hayfields, acres of alfalfa and Carbondale parks and lawns a verdant green. The Crystal has also been under the microscope in recent years for a variety of reasons. Minimum flows for the environment are rarely met in late summer and there’s sometimes not enough water to go around for irrigators. During the […]