The City of Aspen wants to know just how much water flows in Maroon Creek and has contracted with the U.S. Geological Survey to keep an eye on it. It’s tied to efforts to make the city water supply more resilient.
Last year the city commissioned a study to see how vulnerable the water supply is to future climate impacts. The results showed a lot of uncertainty, and that's partly because there isn’t historic data for how much water flows in the creeks that supply Aspen's drinking water.
That’s set to change. The USGS and city staff installed a gage to measure stream flow on Maroon Creek near T-Lazy 7 Ranch last November. The gage is now collecting data and Monday, city council approved a contract for the USGS to operate and maintain it. It’s a 5-year contract for $90,000.
