RIO GRANDE COUNTY — Rio Grande County Commissioners met on June 29 with Emma Reesor, the Executive Director of the Rio Grande Headwaters Restoration Project.

Reesor has been working through the Headwater Restoration Project to improve safety along the Rio Grande Canal and specifically the low head dam where the canal breaks from the river.

Reesor provided an overview of the project. The Rio Grande Canal, located near Del Norte, diverts water from the Rio Grande and supplies irrigation water for more than 69,000 acres of agricultural land. The canal’s low head dam diversion structure marks the downstream boundary of the Rio Grande’s Gold Medal reach, which begins in South Fork at the Highway 149 bridge.

The Gold Medal reach relies upon the canal’s low head dam because it acts as a barrier to the upstream movement of nonnative fish species which would otherwise threaten existing trout fisheries, Reesor stated. This segment of the Rio Grande is actively used by a variety of recreational boaters, especially anglers who float fish the Gold Medal trout fishery.

The project addresses the need for portage deterring boaters around the low head dam.

However, the canal’s low head dam poses significant risks for boaters, according to Reesor. The diversion structure creates a roughly 10-foot change in the river’s water surface elevation. This forms a dangerous hydraulic jump, which can entrain objects for long periods. Currently, there is no formal portage around the canal’s low head dam.

“As river recreation increases locally, the need for safe portage around this drowning hazard has become increasingly urgent,” Reesor stated.

The project would increase safety along the section of the river and allow for an alternative route.

“This Rio Grande Canal Boater Safety and Accessibility Project (Project) will address the safety hazard at the Canal and enhance recreational opportunities by constructing a new user-friendly watercraft portage around the LHD and improving aquatic habitat,” Reesor stated.

Reesor explained that though they have received funding from several sources, the project still needed $20,000.

“The total cost of the project is $300,872,” Reesor said. “To date, the partners have secured $280,872 for project design, construction, and signage, which includes a Colorado Water Plan grant, cash contributions from local organizations, and both cash and in-kind contributions from the Rio Grande Canal Water Users Association. The project currently faces a funding shortfall of $20,000.”

Commissioners agreed to use conservation trust funding for the remaining $20,000 so the project could begin. This project is a partnership between the Rio Grande Canal Water Users Association, the Rio Grande Headwaters Restoration Project, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, American Whitewater, Trout Unlimited, the Ditch and Reservoir Company Alliance, Division of Water Resources Dam Safety Branch, and private landowners.

“When complete, the project will improve public safety and enhance recreational opportunities along an important reach of the Rio Grande by installing safety signage and constructing a watercraft portage,” Reesor stated. “Additionally, by providing safe passage around the canal, the project will allow boaters to utilize the recently completed boat ramp located approximately 1 mile downstream at the Del Norte Riverfront Park.”