BOARD01745

• Board Meeting Date: 7/23/2001
• Description: Flood Section - Colorado River Basin Issues - Report on the North Fork of the Gunnison River Restoration Project
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

the possible role ofPaonia Reservoir in the stream's instability. The other project, being
funded with money from FY '01- '02, will involve planning and design work for the
construction of river restoration improvements for a 4 - 5 mile stream reach between
Hotchkiss and Paonia.

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Paonia Reservoir Study
Paonia Reservoir is located on Muddy Creek, several miles downstream ofthe crest of
McClure Pass. Immediately downstream of the dam, Muddy Creek and Anthracite Creek
join to form the North Fork. As its name implies, Muddy Creek is high in sediment,
much of which has deposited in the reservoir since its construction. There has been some
speculation that the deposition of that sediment in the reservoir has disrupted the
sediment balance of the North Fork downstream and contributed to the stream's
instability. The purpose of this study is to examine preliminarily the role ofthe reservoir
to determine whether further, more detailed study is justified.

River Improvement Planniug and Design
NFRIA has built one river improvement project, in the vicinity of Hotchkiss. The new
project will involve planning and design for another problem reach of the river, upstream
of Hotchkiss, between the Towns of Hotchkiss and Paonia. The project reach is 4 to 5
miles long. The work effort will consist of three major steps:

. Topographic field surveys;
. Preparation of a topographic map from the surveys; and
. Development of design drawings and documents for river improvements.

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Within NFRIA's river reach of interest, from the confluence with Terror Creek, a few
miles upstream of Paonia, downstream to the confluence with the Gunnison River, below
Hotchkiss, the Hotchkiss project already constructed and this new 4 - 5 mile project are
the two largest river restoration projects, in terms of stream miles.

Board Action
At this time, the staff of the Flood Protection Section is not making any specific request
of the Board. On Tuesday, July 24, 2001, at the Board meeting a representative of
NFRIA will make a 15 - 20 minute presentation about their work on the North Fork,
including the Paonia Reservoir study and the river improvement planning and design
project, at the Board meeting.

Recommendation
There is no staff recommendation regarding this agenda item.

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