C150190 Feasibility Study

• Contract/PO #: C150190
• Contractor Name: Beaver Reservoir Company
• Contract Type: Loan
• Water District: 59
• County: Gunnison
• Loan Projects - Doc Type: Feasibility Study

INTRODUCTION

BEAVER RESERVOIR

Beaver Reservoir is located in Gunnison County, approximately
9 miles southeast of paonia, Colorado, at an elevation of
approximately 8,100 feet. The darn is located in Section 21,
Township 14 South, Range 90 West, and is situated on the East Fork
of Minnesota Creek, a tributary to Minnesota Creek and the North
Fork of the Gunnison River.

The site was initially investigated in 1940 by the U.S. Bureau
of Reclamation (Reclamation). The proposed project was an
approximate ISO-foot high darn with a crest elevation of 8,160 feet
and a crest length of 1,100 feet. As a result of exploration
during this investigation, it was concluded that the site had
foundation problems and that foundation preparation would likely be
costly (Merriman 1940). The exploration program encountered
evidence of coal beds in the left abutment area which had burned
and resulted in loss of volume and disturbance to the overlying
bedrock layers. Considering the foundation problems and associated
costs of remediation, Reclamation elected not to construct this
project.

In 1958, Beaver Reservoir Company (BRC) constructed a scaled-
down version of the Reclamation project as shown on Figure 1-2.
The darn has a height of approximately 113 feet with a crest
elevation of 8,111 feet and a crest length of about 870 feet. A
spillway is located in the right abutment area.

It is our understanding that reservoir seepage had been
experienced since the completion of the project and several repairs
were completed, including partial blanketing of the reservoir in
1971 using compacted native soil. Ultimately, in 1995, the
existing liner was installed on the reservoir embankments.

The reservoir is impounded by a zoned earthfill embankment
constructed across a narrow, step-walled stretch of the East Fork
of Minnesota Creek. The embankment is shown in plan and section on
Figure 1-2, obtained from the 1993 Woodward-Clyde Consultants
Feasibility Study, which earlier obtained it from the design
drawing files of the Colorado Division of Water Resources (CDWR).
Reservoir storage capacity is 1,620 acre-feet. A steel outlet pipe
with concrete inlet at the mid-valley section is used for
controlled releases from the reservoir. Uncontrolled releases
occur through the open channel spillway in the right abutment. The
hydraulic control system is proposed to be replaced by a manual
stern and crank system as part of this project.

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