The Colorado River once only powered farms and industry. Today, it powers communities whose economies depend on recreational activities such as rafting, tubing and fishing. In Southern Utah, businesses along the Colorado River and the Virgin River say low flows are reshaping seasons, straining logistics and forcing a reevaluation of century-old water policies.
It’s been nearly 100 years since the Colorado River Compact of 1922 divided the historic waterway between seven states and Mexico. Today, almost 40 million people rely on its flows for drinking water, agriculture, power and recreation, according to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.
Dr. John (Jack) Schmidt, director of the Center for Colorado River Studies at Utah State University, told St. George News the lowest sustained flows on record at the gauge in Cisco, which is downstream of the Dolores River near Westwater Canyon, have occurred in the last two decades.
“If I compare the lowest episode of flow, which were 2002 to 2004 and 2020 to 2022, those were the two episodes that had really low flow,” Schmidt said. “Those flow numbers are approximately 50% of what the flows were like between 2005 and 2019, which is the main part of the 21st century. So during the really low flow periods, flow can be half what they are in more normal times in the 21st century.”
This past spring underscored the trend.
“If I look at Colorado River Cisco USGS monthly statistics, the average flow at Cisco was only 3.6% of the long-term average for June. For May, the average flow was 2.7% of the long-term average,” Schmidt said.
He pointed to a mix of climate change and human use.
“The ultimate cause is a warming climate and decreasing runoff,” Schmidt said. “Beyond climate change, the inflow of the Dolores River has been largely cut off by the existence and operations of McPhee Reservoir, so essentially you’ve eliminated the upper part of the Dolores River from the system.”
Much of that water, he noted, goes to farms in southwestern Colorado and to Denver and Front Range cities.
“The biggest water use upstream from Westwater Canyon is the use of water for irrigated agriculture, and the second, and sort of an equal amount, is removed from the basin that goes to Front Range cities,” Schmidt said.
Outfitters adjust
For those who guide trips on the river, those changes show up in bookings, cancellations and shifting itineraries.
Lauren Wood of Holiday River Expeditions said in an email to St. George News that they saw a surge during the COVID-19 pandemic, but things are tapering off.
"Low water isn’t new, but the frequency of drought years has forced adjustments. It’s nothing we’re not used to. These rivers have always had high and low water years," Wood said. "As a company, we are built to accommodate a fair amount of variability in flows; it’s more that we’ve simply seen more drought seasons than in the past.”
To adapt, Wood said the company lengthened its two longest trips by a day around midsummer to account for seasonally lower flows.
“That gives the guides and guests an extra day not to forgo any of the incredible hiking opportunities along the way,” she said.
Wood added that the San Juan River, a tributary of the Colorado River, has become especially unstable.
“If tributaries like the Animas River aren’t flowing high, the river can drop below a viable level for navigating the lower San Juan Canyon,” she said. “Trips there often come with disclaimers that they may need to move elsewhere if flows dip too low.”
She added that recent drought seasons have clearly changed how Holiday Expeditions operates on the San Juan River. The San Juan has low flows not only due to low snowpack but also due to how the river is allocated.
Wood said every year, Navajo Dam releases a consistent flow, and both above and below the dam, consumptive use takes water out of the river before it flows past their put-in at Sand Island Boatramp.
"If tributaries like the Animas River aren't flowing high, the river can drop below a viable level for navigating the lower San Juan Canyon from Mexican Hat Boat Ramp to Clay Hills Boat Ramp," Wood said. "In recent years, when we book guests onto the Lower or Full San Juan Trips, those bookings come with a disclaimer that we will run the trip if at all logistically feasible, but if flows fall below our runnable levels, we will need to find an alternative stretch for them to float."
Wood said this situation is the “canary in the coal mine” of Western rivers, but at least for the time being, they are grateful not to have to navigate such challenges with other stretches of river across the Colorado Plateau.
Infrastructure is another hurdle, she said.
“Progress in getting a new ramp built out has been slow, leaving boaters to take out on an ever-changing sediment slope called ‘North Wash,’” Wood said, noting the old takeout at Hite Marina has been landlocked for more than a decade.
She said long-term solutions require collaboration and a new look at the law governing the river.
“For over a century, the Colorado River Compact has been the foundational agreement between upper and lower basin states, and for nearly that long, it hasn’t worked at all; not to mention it intentionally sidestepped the tribes,” Wood said. “It is as if we have been trying to build a house on top of a broken foundation for over 100 years. It’s time to radically reimagine how we as states, as water-users, as human-animals who rely on intact ecosystems, are in relationship to the life-giving resource that is the Colorado River.”
Tubing the Virgin River
Closer to Zion National Park, tubing operators are navigating their own challenges. Adam Freeman, owner of Zion Tubing, said this year began with record-low snowpack.
“2025 has been a low-water year," Freeman said. "We started the year off with very little snowpack, which translated to the lowest river flows for the start of the season. We were a bit nervous to see if we would be able to operate the full season or if the river would get too low."
He said they were surprised that tubing continued without major problems.
“The river levels held around 50 cubic feet per second. The level of 50 cubic feet per second is a record average low since Zion Tubing began in 2019," he said. "When river levels get this low, the river is just as safe or safer than at normal summer river levels."
Despite the low water, business has been steady, he said. The tubing season runs mid-May through early September, and pricing has remained the same for three years. But costs are rising.
“We have tried our hardest and succeeded in not raising prices while everything around us has gotten more expensive. Just this year alone, we have seen the steepest price increases on equipment,” Freeman said. “We do our best to fix and repair our equipment rather than replace it. This is one of the biggest reasons we are able to offer the tubes and customer service for this activity.”
He said technology and vigilance play a big role in safety, and he checks with the U.S. Geological Survey website often.
“USGS river gauges and studying weather models are the most useful data points we use for ensuring safe tubing conditions,” Freeman said. “This, combined with active radar monitoring and staff observing threatening clouds, makes us feel good about the systems we have in place to make safe decisions on when to stay open or close down tubing when we are in monsoon season.”
Alternative to the compact
According to the Future of the Colorado River Project website, the project is being conducted in recognition of the impending renegotiation of the Colorado River Interim Guidelines for Lower Basin Shortages and Coordinated Operations of Lake Powell and Lake Mead. The project is organized within the Center for Colorado River Studies at Utah State University.
To learn more, visit the Colorado River Project website.
