Windy Gap Reservoir, located near the town of Granby in

Grand County, Colorado Grand County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 15,717. The county seat is Hot Sulphur Springs, Colorado, Hot Sulphur Springs. History When Grand County was ...

, is owned and operated by the

Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District The Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District — more commonly referred to as Northern Water — is a water utility for eight counties in northeastern Colorado. Northern Water works with the Colorado-Big Thompson Project to transfer water from ...

. The reservoir's inflow and outflow are from and to the

Colorado River The Colorado River ( es, Río Colorado) is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The river drains an expansive, arid drainage basin, watershed that encompasses parts of ...

. The confluence of the

Fraser River The Fraser River is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Blackrock Mountain in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for , into the Strait of Georgia just south of the City of Vancouver. The river's annual d ...

and the Colorado River is about a mile upstream from the reservoir. A

diversion dam A diversion dam is a dam that diverts all or a portion of the flow of a river from its natural course. Diversion dams do not generally impound water in a reservoir; instead, the water is diverted into an artificial water course or canal, which ...

creates the reservoir. A nearby pumping station sends water from the reservoir to

Lake Granby Lake Granby is the third largest body of water in Colorado. It was created by the erection of Granby Dam, completed in 1950, as part of the Bureau of Reclamation's Colorado-Big Thompson Project. Water from Lake Granby is pumped via the Farr Pum ...

, six miles away, where it is then pumped over the mountains to the

Front Range The Front Range is a mountain range of the Southern Rocky Mountains of North America located in the central portion of the U.S. State of Colorado, and southeastern portion of the U.S. State of Wyoming. It is the first mountain range encountere ...

. The project is able to divert about 48,000 acre-feet of water per year, chiefly during the snowmelt season from April to July.Municipal Subdistrict. Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District
The Windy Gap Project
Viewed July 8, 2016.

Wildlife viewing

The Windy Gap Watchable Wildlife Area lies on the north side of the reservoir and provides parking and picnic tables.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Windy Gap Reservoir Reservoirs in Colorado Protected areas of Grand County, Colorado Dams in Colorado United States local public utility dams Lakes of Grand County, Colorado

Wildlife viewing

See also

References