Laserfiche WebLink
<br />Water Supply Reserve Account - Grant Application Form <br />Form Revised May 2007 <br /> <br />and is listed as class 3 degraded water, impaired because of sediment. This project will also help meet a <br />consumptive need as the water intake for the Winter Park Water and San. Dist is impacted by the sediment <br />in this reach of stream. <br /> <br />3. For Applications that include a request for funds from the Statewide Account, describe how the water <br />activity meets the Evaluation Criteria. See Part 3 of Criteria and Guidelines. <br /> <br />This settling basin is located at the base of Berthoud Pass, high in the Fraser River basin. If the 9,000 tons <br />of traction sand dropped on the )Vest side of Berthoud pass each winter is allowed to migra~e lower in the valley it <br />will frrst continue to reconfigure the stream bed in the National Forest. This secti~n of the river is the first <br />impression to the visitor in the Fraser valley. While it is important to insure the safety of our states visitors in the <br />winter it is also imperative that their visualization of Colorado in the summer remain pristine. Below this section of <br />the Fraser River is the base development of the Winter Park Ski Area. In the summer of 2008 a river enhancement <br />project will restore and reconfigure this section of stream to be a center piece of this major development. This <br />sediment basin is critical to protect the esthetic value of one of Colorado's major tourism components. Just below <br />the section of river running through the ski area is a river enhancement project through the towns of Winter Park <br />and Fraser. This project was done to improve the aquatic habitat which was impacted by reduced flows caused by <br />trans-basin diversion. The result has been a vastly improved fishery which provides additional economic health to <br />both of these towns. Because the topography flattens through this section, the river is more susceptible to being <br />impaired by the build up of sediment, which is very detrimental to a healthy fishery. <br /> <br />Because the Fraser River is a headwaters tributary to the Colorado River, the implications of cleaning up <br />these headwaters will be felt downstream to the Utah border. High in the headwaters is the habitat of the Boreal toad <br />and the Lynx. Both of these species rely on a healthy riparian habitat which is endangered by the stream bed <br />configuration of heavy deposits of traction sand. A cleaner headwaters will eventually flow lower in the basin <br />through the endangered fish section of the Colorado River in the Grand Valley. <br /> <br />The CWCB filings on the Fraser River offer minimum stream flow protection. With the river flowing at a <br />minimum flow, the water quality in this stream is critical in helping protect and preserve the aquatic and riparian <br />habitat. It is common today and will be much more so in the future that the Fraser River will flow at or bellow the <br />CWCB flows. For the funds that are being requested the return to the State in protecting one of its greatest and most <br />frequently visited resources is a bargain. The Fraser River has been a hallmark for the State of Colorado since the <br />days when President Eisenhower spent his summer vacations fly fishing on these pristine waters. In an ever more <br />competitive tourism market, it is essential for Colorado to maintain its image as pristine. Today our image is exactly <br />that, but projeqt~ like this sediment basin are cri~ical to maintaining ,t4at image for, future generations of <br />Coloradoans. Tourism is one of the major drive engin~s in our State and keeping our headw8:ters clean will prove to <br />have significant socio economic ~pacts. This project does exactly that with minimal cost to the State. <br /> <br />4. Please provide an overview of the water project or activity to be funded including - type of activity, <br />statement of what the activity is intended to accomplish, the need for the activity, the problems and <br />opportunities to be addressed, expectations of the participants, why the activity is important, the service <br />area or geographic location, and any relevant issues etc. Please include any relevant TABOR issues that <br />may affect the Contracting Entity. Please refer to Part 2 of Criteria and Guidance document for additional <br /> <br />6 <br />