2020-10-12_PERMIT FILE - M2020047

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EXHIBIT B Site Description a) The site in question is the dry reservoir/ sediment bed of Paonia Reservoir. The US Bureau of Reclamation owns the site. Paonia Reservoir State Park overlays the federal land. Management of the reservoir itself is by Fire Mountain Canal and Reservoir company, under contract from the North Fork Water Conservancy District. Sediment there is primarily the alluvium of Muddy Creek and is composed of gravel, sand, silt, and clay. We seek to harvest up to 1 acre/foot of sediment from the area, after and during which the proposed site will remain a dry reservoir/ sediment bed. The sediment in this area is over 10 feet deep. The top layer consists of 8-24" of clay and silt mix followed by multiple sand and clay beds. A small drainage entering the reservoir near the boat ramp has carved a channel in the alluvium. Depending on the morphology of the alluvial fan this year, it may be necessary to grade this channel to allow equipment to access adequate sediment. There are a small amount of willows that grow seasonally along the edge of the boat ramp and alluvial fan. These willows are all below the high water line, and as such drown and re-grow from roots annually. Care will be taken to minimize impacts to willows and other vegetation. b) There are no significant structures within 200 feet of the area where sediment will be collected. However, the site will be accessed using the Paonia Reservoir Boat Ramp, which also has an adjacent shed and restroom owned by the state park. Neither of these structures will be impacted in any way, and both are more than 200 feet from the collection site. c) This site on the Paonia Reservoir bed is fed primarily by Muddy Creek, as it is upstream from Williams Creek and other inlets. The water quality here is high in silt content, as Muddy Creek carries a high sediment load. Based on the most recent bathymetric survey of the entire reservoir, conducted in June 2013, the estimated average annual rate of sedimentation has been 101 acre-feet per year since completion of the dam in 1962. Nearly 25% (about 5,200 acre feet) of the reservoir's original capacity of 20,950 acre-feet has been lost to sediment deposition. Record of this survey and a larger study by the Bureau of Reclamation on reservoir sedimentation will be included as Exhibit M. Upstream, highway activity, grazing, and oil and gas development unrelated to this proposal can affect water quality at the site. USGS water monitoring station #385903107210800 is for Muddy Creek upstream of Paonia Reservoir and documents a flow rate ranging from 7 cubic feet per second to 600 cubic feet per second, with peak flow in the Spring.