9534

• UCREFRP Catalog Number: 9534
• Author: Mussetter Engineering Inc.
• Title: Findings of the Sediment Monitoring Program Peer Review Panel and Recommended Work Plan.
• USFW Year: 1997.
• USFW - Doc Type: Fort Collins.
• Copyright Material: NO

I'""
I
I
I'
I
I
I
I
t

1. INTRODUCTION

The Colorado River Recovery Program Director and Water Acquisition Committee have identified
a need to better define the requirements, appropriate methodologies, and levels of effort for a
sediment monitoring program to help define habitat requirements for endangered native fish in
the Yampa, Little Snake, and Green Rivers. To meet that need, an independent peer review panel
was fonned to review historical data, review the status of ongoing data collection efforts, identify
sediment issues as they relate to recovery of endangered fishes, and develop recommendations
for future sediment work to support Program efforts. '

The peer review panel was established under the direction of Mr. George Smith, U.S. Fish &
Wildlife Service (USFWS), and consisted of the following individuals:

Dr. Bob Mussetter, Mussetter Engineering, Inc. (Workshop Coordinator)
Dr. Mike Harvey, Mussetter Engineering, Inc. (MEI)
Dr. Ned Andrews, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)
Mr. John Elliott, USGS
Mr. Paul Von Guerard, USGS
Dr. Jim O'Brien, FLO Engineering, Inc.

Other interested individuals who provided input to the panel included:

t

Mr. Ed Wick, National Park Service
Mr. Bill Fullerton, FLO Engineering, Inc.
Mr. Henry Maddux, USFWS
Mr. Dave Merritt, Colorado River Water Conservation District

l
J

To support the peer review panel's work, Mussetter Engineering, Inc. (MEI) identified and
summarized existing sediment and river channel data for the Green, Yampa and Little Snake
Rivers. A workshop was held on February 21,1997, at which the data summary was reviewed,
issues to be addressed by the sediment monitoring program were identified and discussed, and
recommendations for the sediment monitOring workplan were developed. A sediment information
paper summarizing the existing data was prepared subsequent to the workshop (MEI, 1997).

2. BACKGROUND

In developing the recommendations, the peer review panel considered a number of issues related
to man-induced factors that have affected the flow patterns and sediment delivery to the Yampa
and Green Rivers, and the potential effects of those factors on spawning and other life-stage
habitats for the endangered fish. The water resources of the Upper Colorado River basin have
been extensively developed for water supply, irrigation, and power generation. The net effect of
the development has been to significantly modify the pre-development annual hydrograph through
water storage in upstream reservoirs, and subsequent releases during the remainder of the year.
Under pre-development conditions, peak flows from the snowmelt runoff were higher, and non-
snowmelt runoff flows were lower than occurs under present conditions. Presently, peak flows are
stored within reservoirs and are subsequently released during the remainder of the year. The
Yampa River is the only large river in the Upper Colorado River basin in which flow patterns have
not been substantially altered by water development projects (Tyus and Karp, 1989),and

1

MussetterEngi neeri ng. Inc.