C150033 Approval letter

• Contract/PO #: C150033
• Contractor Name: North Fork River Improvement Association
• Contract Type: Grant
• Water District: 0
• County: Delta
• Loan Projects - Doc Type: Approval Letter

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STATE OF COLORADO

Colorado Water Conservation Board

Department of Natural Resources
1313 Sherman Street, Room 721
Denver, Colorado 80203
Phone: [phone]
FAX: [phone]

MEMORANDUM
(Updated December 2, 1999)

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TO:

Colorado Water Conservation Board Members

Bill Owens
Governor

FROM:

Greg E.Walcher
John Van Sciver Executive Director
Mike Serlet, P.E., Chief, Water Project Planning and Finance Section
Peter H. Evans
CWCB Director

DATE:

November 16, 1999

Dan McAuliffe
Deputy Director

SUBJECT: Agenda Item 15c., November 22-23,1999 Board Meeting
North Fork River Improvement Association

Introduction
The North Fork River Improvement Association (NFRIA) has applied for a Grant of $150,000 to
continue water shed planning and demonstration projects on the North Fork of the Gunnison
River. This project is for North Fork Planning and Remediation and includes four parts:

Community Outreach and Education
Monitoring and evaluation of existing riVl:~r cross-sections
Research on the effects Paonia Reservoir has on restoration efforts
Planning and design of a demonstration project

The estimated total cost of this project is $236,500 with a completion date of 2 years. The total
long-range cost for NFRIA projects is estimated to be $3 million over the next 10 to 20 years.
Please see the attached project summary and map.

Historv
When settlers first arrived in the North Fork Valley in the early 1880's they were greeted with a
fertile river valley that produced some of the finest agricultural products in Colorado. The prime
soil was the direct result of deposits of rich silt from the annual floods of the river. The river was
very crooked and lessened its fall, and did not cut its banks. As farmers began cutting the curves
in the river so the river valley could be cultivated, trouble began. Instead of straightening out, the
river cut out across acres of good land.

As meanders were cut out of the river it became apparent that bank protection was needed in
order to maintain a viable farm. Efforts made to channelize and "control" the river involved
building dikes, excavating the river bottom, and armoring the banks with large boulders, trees,
cabled tires, car bodies, or whatever could be found. Delta County and private landowners later
undertook an annual campaign to construct dikes and lower the river channel utilizing the
existing "channelization" technology of the time developed by the Army Corps of Engineers and
the Soil Conservation Service.