Projects

The Martin Springs Irrigation project will make improvements to an existing storage pond and point of diversion. They will dredge an existing pond to remove accumulated sediment. This will provide capacity for the absolute storage right of 3.5 acre-feet. They will install a stainless steel head gate and 12” HDPE pipe diversion structure, and construct approximately 600 feet of lateral swales for 11.42 irrigated acres.

Approved: September, 2019

Basin Ask: $7,462

Reports

The Maybell Ditch will consult with an engineer to create a final engineering design and construction plans to improve the diversion structure and replace the headgate on the Maybell Ditch. Once installed, the modern headgate will allow irrigators to better control the volume of water diverted from the Yampa. This will improve flows for nonconsumptive users along 18 miles of the Yampa, as well as improve delivery for Maybell irrigators.

Approved: May, 2019

Basin Ask: $75,000

The project replaces a major diversion headgate and flood control structure serving the Walker Ditch located on the Yampa River, three miles east of Hayden Colorado. The project headgate was constructed in approximately 1940 after the river migrated north away from the original 1890 headgate location. The 1940 river migration required an extension of the ditch through the old channel and new headgate structure on the new river channel.

Approved: May, 2019

Basin Ask: $62,222

The goal of this project is to build consensus, through hydrologic modeling scenarios, among various stakeholders on the projects/methods that can advance the Basin Implementation Plan.

Approved: March, 2019

Basin Ask: $154,524

Reports

The 2018 Yampa River Health Assessment and Streamflow Management Plan (aka The Stream Management Plan) found that the riparian forest is degraded on the reach of the Yampa River above the Chuck Lewis State Wildlife Area, through town and to the Wastewater Treatment Plant and that improving the quality of the vegetation, particularly the shading canopy cover, will lead to improvements in stream temperature and water quality on the Yampa River. By restoring the river forest, this 3-year project that was identified as a top priority action item in the Stream Management Plan, will also help to improve aquatic and terrestrial habitat and to stabilize the river channel thus making it more resilient to floods, droughts, or human impacts. The City intends to partner with the Yampa Valley Sustainability Council’s (YVSC) Re-Tree program to restore the riparian forest through strategic plantings of willows, alders, cottonwoods and other native river plant species on Public Open Space parcels and other prioritized locations. This project will connect community members, especially youth, to the river through this locally established volunteer tree-planting program. The WSRF funds will be used to design and prioritize restoration projects; to secure an adequate supply of trees and shrubs that are purchased and/or harvested locally; to construct a seasonal riparian plant nursery, if deemed necessary, to coordinate plantings on the prioritized areas, and to provide long-term care and protection for the seedlings.

Approved: January, 2019

Basin Ask: $25,000

Reports

The project objectives include obtaining a better understanding of the causes of increased prolific algal occurrences in the Upper Yampa River watershed. Applying stream flow data to the past eight years of USGS water quality data collected at sampling sites in the basin will allow the USGS to create accurate nutrient and sediment loading models. This analysis is designed to provide new data and subsequent understanding of the transport and fate of nutrients and sediment as well as seasonal fluctuations at sites throughout the watershed. As part of this analysis, a comprehensive evaluation of potential loading sources will be undertaken. Water suppliers, wastewater treatment operators, recreational users, and the citizenry at large will benefit from this analysis. Water managers, including those in the agriculture industry, will be better able to make informed decisions as the dynamics of these important constituents are better  understood. The full USGS study proposal is available upon request.

Approved: January, 2019

Basin Ask: $77,424

Reports

The Yampa River Leafy Spurge Project (YRLSP) engages private land owners, federal, state and local government agencies, educational, environmental and recreation organizations and interested individuals, who share a concern for the economic and ecological future of the Yampa Valley. We are working together to establish an effective program of integrated management for leafy spurge an emerging threat to our regional agricultural economy and riparian watershed health.

Approved: September, 2018

Basin Ask: $89,000

Reports

In March of 2015, the Rio Blanco Water Conservancy District completed an initial feasibility study to identify potential water storage sites in the White River Basin. The study evaluated 25 potential storage sites along the White River and concluded that a new reservoir, located near the confluence of the White River and Wolf Creek, would provide a very efficient, cost effective, multipurpose water project for northwestern Colorado The purpose of  additional White River water storage is to conserve and put to beneficial use some of the approximately 500,000 acre-feet of unused water that flows out of Colorado from the White River each year. The Rio Blanco Water Conservancy District continues to face a serious water crisis because it’s Kenney Reservoir, which originally provided 13,800 acre-feet of storage, is silting in at an average rate of more than 300 acre-feet per year. The annual loss of water storage in Kenney Reservoir reduces recreation use in the reservoir each year and significantly increases the risk to the Town of Rangely’s water supply in times of droughts. Storing a portion of the water that flows out of Colorado from the White River each year will provide significant benefits to endangered fish; provide additional water for municipal, agricultural, and industrial; provide water quality benefits; and meet future demands for a variety of recreation activities in northwest Colorado. The Phase 1 study also documented that that a new Wolf Creek Reservoir would produce additional annual tax revenues of nearly $1.4 million to local economies and the State of Colorado.

Approved: March, 2017

Basin Ask: $85,000

State Ask: $82,888

Reports

The Maybell Ditch Improvement Project installed an automated waste gate and a measuring flume in the Maybell Ditch. In addition, the District permanently stabilized a hillside that had been reducing irrigation efficiency and producing sediment loads into the Yampa River for many years. Gates were also installed in strategic locations on the ditch to improve water management, helping to manage water flows and reduce tail water.

Approved: November, 2016

Basin Ask: $45,675

Reports

This grant will help develop and implement water education and outreach in the Basin. This is a 3-Year Program of Collateral Dissemination, Media Networking, Forums and Workshops.

Awarded: May, 2016

Basin Ask: $150,000