The State of Colorado's Watersheds Report 2005

• Year: 2005
• Title: The State of Colorado's Watersheds Report
• Author: Colorado Watershed Assembly
• Description: 2005
• Publications - Doc Type: Other

local watershed reports
Background
2005 was a busy year for the Lake
Fork Watershed Working Group in
Lake County, Colorado. The LFWWG
was formed in 1999 and developed a
partnership comprised of government
and private trustees whose purpose
was to identify the water quality and
quantity issues associated with the
Lake Fork watershed, a tributary
system to the Upper Arkansas. The
upperArkansas had seen a considerable
amount of focus upon water quality
issues associated with the area primarily
due to the California Gulch Superfund
Site which is located across the basin
from the Lake Fork. The Lake Fork was
therefore long ignored regardless of
its own historical mining heritage and
considerable water quality concerns.
A Partnership is Forged
Dan Grenard with the BLM
formed the partnership which was
comprised of representatives from the
Environmental Protection Agency,
Colorado Department of Public Health
and Environment, US Forest Service,
Bureau of Reclamation, Division of
Minerals and Geology, private land-
owners and Lake County. Karmen
King, with Colorado Mountain College
Natural Resource Management Institute
coordinated the group which eventually
was able to secure all necessary
permits, access, AOC /RAM logistics,
EE /CA components for the cleanup of
75,000 3yds of hazardous mine waste
from the Dinero Mining Complex.
DMG coordinated the effort which
took approximately one year from
the time of project start -up. Frontier
Environmental Services helped with
the preliminary engineering and the
design of the mine -waste repository.
The year 2005 marked the
completion of the project, and the
time period where the focus was drawn
Mine tailings
towards finishing touches of wetland
mitigation, water quality monitoring,
repository cap revegetation and mine -
tunnel studies. Currently, the LFWWG
is working with DMG to explore the
possibilities of Dinero Tunnel closure.
This year the group has also
partnered with Trout Unlimited for the
pursuit of grant funds provided through
the Colorado Watershed Protection
Fund. The proposed project involves
the creation of an aeration wetland for
the passive treatment of mine - impacted
waters from the Colorado Gulch. The
Colorado Gulch has been well studied
by the LFWWG and was identified as
the next "risk ranked" water quality
concern within the basin. Matrix
Design Group provided preliminary
engineering designs for a number of
clean up alternatives for the mine waste
piles and the flowing tunnels associated
with areas of concern within Colorado
Gulch. In addition to the passive
wetland treatment of Colorado Gulch
waters, another likely step is removing
some large mine waste piles, diverting
flows from certain tunnels of concern,
and installing storm water controls. This
tributary and the Dinero tunnel remain
as LFWWG's next tasks for ultimate
accomplishment in the years to come.
Mine - impacted waters