FLOOD01419 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

.. PROVO RIVER RESTORATION PROJECT Prepared for CASFM 1996 Annual Conference "Thinking Outside the Box" Expand Your Horizons" by Edwin G. "Chip" Paulson, Principal Engineer Montgomery Watson Americas, Inc., Denver, Colorado PREFACE In the mid-1800s, many citizens of the East and Midwest felt confined by the limited opportunities available to them in the cities of that time period. Thinking outside the box... they ventured west as pioneers, some of them settling the lovely Heber Valley in central Utah. In the mid-1900s, farmers and ranchers in Heber Valley experienced repeated flooding of the Provo River caused by natural runoff and upstream transbasin diversions. Thinking outside the box... they joined with the U.s. Bureau of Reclamation and constructed a system of levees to control flooding and improve the efficiency of their irrigation diversions from the river. Now in the 1990s: There are calls for wetland preservation. Inside the box are artificial created wetlands. What's outside the box? . There is a demand for increased fishing and other stream-related recreational resources. Inside the box are stocked lakes and artificial fish habitat structures in heavily modified channels. What's outside the box? , There is a need to protect the public from flood damages. Inside the box are straightened. hard-lined channels and levees. What's outside the box? ) This paper looks outside the box to find a solution to the above needs and desires in the form of stream enh&,cement or river restoration as applied to the Provo River. Utah. Our thinking outside the box spproach causes us to ask not, "What should we do to make the river behave according to our objectives for it?", but rather, "What should we do to derive the maximum benefits from allowing the river to behave in the way it was naturally intended to?" In addition, our thinking outside the box approach requires us to ask not, "How can I formulate the most efficient and effective single-purpose project?", but rather, "How can my project meet a number of diverse needs, and how can I build partnerships between as many potential project advocates as possible?" INTRODUCTION The Provo River Restoration Project (PRRP) is a feasibility-level design study for restoration of the Provo River in Heber Valley, Utah between Jordanelle Dam and Deer Creek Reservoir. The term "restoration" refers to the process of returning the Provo River channel and floodplain to a geomorphic state which, to the extent possible, is representative of natural river systems. In reconstructing a natural river morphology, other values would be restored as well (e.g., fisheries, wetlands, wildlife habitat, riparian woodlands, channel stability). Three restoration alternatives have been developed and analyzed: (1) Instream Structures Allernative (ISA); (2) Existing Channel Modification Alternative (EeMA); and (3) Riverine Habitat Restoration Alternative (RHRA). This paper describes the three alternatives primarily from the standpoint of geomorphic design concepts and multi-objective planning. The PRRP study area is located in Heber Valley, Utah. The Provo River flows approximately 10 miles from Jordanelle Dam at the north end of Heber Valley to Deer Creek Reservoir at the south end of the valley. The upstream PRRP study limit is the Old US 40 bridge about 1,300 feet downstream of Jordanelle Dam. The downstream PRRP study limit is the State Route 113 bridge crossing the upper end of the Deer Creek Reservoir flood easement area. Elevations along the river vary from 5410 to 5860 ms!. The Provo River study area was subdivided into nine reaches based on geomorphic properties and physical features. These reaches are defined below,and shown in Figure 1. Reach I - Deer Creek Reservoir to End of Dikes below Winterton Bridge Reach 2 - Downstream End of Dikes to Casperville Reach 3 - Casperville to Island Ditch Diversion