City of Grand Junction Completes Improvements to Carson Lake Dam on the Grand Mesa

The City of Grand Junction will host a ribbon cutting on Tuesday, July 2 at 1 p.m. celebrating the reopening of Carson Lake (also known as Hogchute Reservoir) on the Grand Mesa now that improvements are complete and the reservoir has been refilled. Carson Lake is part of the City of Grand Junction's water supply network. Following the ribbon cutting, Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW), in collaboration with the city, will restock Carson Lake with fish.

In 2021, the City initiated the dam improvement project for Carson Lake which included proactive measures to preserve the life of the dam, improve operations, and enhance safety for residents in the Kannah Creek basin. The improvements required the draining of the reservoir and included reconstructing the outlet pipe assembly and the overflow spillway and channel. An early warning telemetry system was also added to provide real-time monitoring and communication to emergency services agencies and the public should there be a dam emergency. The work was funded in part with a low-interest, $4.3 million loan from the Colorado Water Conservation Board.

In addition to having to drain the reservoir, during construction, the U.S. Forest Service closed National Forest System Road #108 between Land's End Road and Carson Lake, the parking lot and access to upper trails that start at Carson Lake which have now reopened.