Colorado
Northern Colorado lake closed to motorized boating for 2026 due to low water projections
The Town of Windsor has closed a Northern Colorado lake to motorized boating for 2026 as officials project rapidly declining water levels in the months ahead.
Windsor Lake, a popular destination for outdoor recreation, is currently full. However, town officials say that is expected to change quickly as water is sent downstream for irrigation and other uses.
“With the unknown water levels we are going to have at Windsor Lake, we didn’t feel it was safe to have any kind of motorized boating,” said Kendra Martin, the town’s operations and facilities manager.
The town’s recreation department made the decision to prohibit motorized boating because of concerns surrounding projected low water levels throughout the season.
“We love activity on this lake; it is a super bummer for those who have been on motorized boats on Windsor Lake,” Martin said.
Despite the lake appearing full now, officials say much of the water currently visible is not expected to remain through the summer.
“Due to the low snowpack this year, when water wasn’t yielding in here, only water would be coming out,” said Leif Lesoing, water resource manager for Windsor.
Lesoing said Windsor Lake operates in coordination with the New Cache La Poudre Irrigation Company and plays an important role in irrigation deliveries.
“We operate this reservoir with the New Cache La Poudre Irrigation Company. It is used to equalize their ditch deliveries,” Lesoing said.
According to officials, much of the water currently near the top of the reservoir is already expected to be drained in the coming weeks.
“While it does look full, their water is on the top of the reservoir,” Lesoing said, adding, “This reservoir works every day to make replacements for augmentation and return flows.”
Lesoing said the lake is expected to continue dropping throughout the irrigation season.
“This isn’t in here for the summer. It will be drawn down to make irrigation deliveries through the season,” Lesoing said.
With projections showing more water flowing out of the reservoir than into it for the remainder of the season, town officials said the lake’s boat ramp would not be safe for motorized boating operations.
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Three-quarters of Colorado residents said they were worried about whether they would be able to afford to continue living in the state, according to a poll conducted this spring.
Last year, about 70% of people responding to the Colorado Health Foundation’s annual Pulse poll said they weren’t sure living here would remain financially feasible. That rose to 76% this year.
“That majority concern was cutting across regions, across income levels, across racial and ethnic groups,” said Lucia Del Puppo, senior vice president at FM3 Research, which works with Democrats.
The poll found that the majority of those sampled said they had already cut back on entertainment spending and charitable giving, with smaller shares saying they’d skipped meals, delayed medical or dental care, or paid a utility bill late.
Only about one in four people said they hadn’t changed their spending or dealt with a financial setback in the last year, with older people and Republicans reporting less budget strain.
“It’s significant and it affects the overall economy” when people reduce their discretionary spending, said Lori Weigel, principal of New Bridge Strategy, which works with Republicans.
The responses suggested a significant minority expected further financial strains in the coming year:
- About two in five worried they or a family member would lose health insurance
- Three in 10 worried about affording enough food
- One-third thought they might lose their housing because they couldn’t afford their mortgage or rent
Notably, more than half of renters were worried about whether they could continue to afford their housing, Weigel said. One-third said they’d avoided asking their landlords to fix problems to avoid rent increases, and one-quarter said they’d taken on high-interest debt, such as payday loans or credit card balances, to deal with housing costs, she said.
Lower-income people and those who identified as Black, Hispanic or Native American reported greater financial struggles than other groups.
Even people who haven’t had to cut back are worried about affordability. When asked to rate the seriousness of a list of potential problems, 85% said both the general cost of living and the cost of housing were either “very serious” or “extremely serious.” Additionally, 82% said the cost of health care was a very serious or extremely serious problem.
Younger people were particularly worried about housing costs, with 94% of millennials and 90% of Generation Z members describing the problem as very or extremely serious.
At the same time, when respondents got the chance to name the most important issue facing the state, the largest share — 28% — chose government and politics. The cost of living and inflation came close behind, with 25% deeming it the top issue.
Just one year ago, only 13% of people considered cost of living and inflation their top concern, Del Puppo said.
“It has jumped really since 2025,” she said.
The two may be related, as 72% of respondents said they weren’t satisfied with the government’s response to economic issues. The only question where a slight majority said they were satisfied with the state government’s performance was making the state “safe and welcoming” to everyone, Del Puppo said.
The poll asked more than 2,200 people about their personal finances, experiences with health care and perceptions of the state between March and April, then weighted their results to represent Colorado’s demographics.
As usual, both a Democratic and a Republican firm ran the poll, to reduce the risk of bias.
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