Despite a few days of cold, spring-like weather in the last few days, summer is quickly approaching in Green River. With that, summer activities on the river itself are becoming an attractive past time as well. While we’re in favor of a fun afternoon in the river, it’s also the time of year everyone should be careful around it.
June typically means more spring runoff flowing unto the Fontenelle Reservoir, which also means releases from the dam will increase. In fact, increased releases started Monday, with the dam increasing its release from 1,780 cubic feet per second (cfs) to 3,180 cfs as of this publication.
This means the river is flowing faster and is deeper than it was last week.
The Green River’s emergency services have already responded to reports of people being swept downstream and while those incidents ended in the best way possible, the wrong combination of safety equipment, swimmer ability and increased flows from the dam could end in tragedy. Thankfully, it’s a tragedy the community hasn’t experienced in some time, but the possibility is always there.
We’re not advocating for complete avoidance of the river. There are still a number of activities to enjoy despite the increased flows.
We’re urging caution and careful planning to those who decide to enjoy what the Green River has to offer. The last thing anyone wants, us included, is to experience a tragic day stemming from an incident at the river.
With that in mind, please be safe around the river.
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