Five years ago this month, a new piece of river infrastructure was dedicated on the Poudre River to reconnect a reach that had been blocked by a low-head diversion dam.

The fish passage at Watson Lake was dedicated on May 1, 2019, with representatives from Morning Fresh Dairy, Northern Water, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, Trout Unlimited and the Poudre River National Historic Area.

The passage helps to meet several goals at once. First and foremost, it allows for the conveyance of a portion of the yield from the Northern Integrated Supply Project’s Glade Reservoir down the Poudre River to a diversion downstream of downtown Fort Collins. As part of the Fish and Wildlife Mitigation and Enhancement Plan for NISP, the release of some water from Glade Reservoir will improve a section of river year-round.

Second, the new passage will help native species move around the current diversion dam using a ramp that has water in it much of the year. Embedded within the ramp are cobbles that provide resting areas for small fish swimming against the river current.

Today, you can see this fish passage and interpretive signage at the northeast corner of Watson Lake just west of LaPorte.