Whetstone construction impacts Slate River, surrounding wetlands

County aware and planning remediation

By Katherine Nettles

Gunnison County officials this week addressed mounting concerns about the extensive damage occurring to the Slate River riverbanks, flow meter equipment and to wetlands adjacent to the county’s major housing development under construction along Highway 135 near Brush Creek. 

County staff says it has not violated any permit requirements, but that construction hit some snags on the site and remediation will begin this week. Staff also assured county commissioners that water quality has been maintained for water onsite.

In a work session with the Upper Gunnison River Water Conservancy District (UGRWCD), UGRWCD general manager Sonja Chavez addressed the issue.

Chavez said in early October her agency received a phone call from a community member alerting them to construction impacts on the Slate River. “We weren’t aware at the time that the project actually involved putting water utilities across the Slate River,” said Chavez. She said commissioner Jonathan Houck connected her with John Cattles, assistant county manager for sustainability and operations. 

“People were asking, why is there construction equipment in the river and what does the district know about it,” recalled Chavez. 

She described that the UGRWCD had equipment at the site with a US Geological Survey (USGS) gauging station. She shared a photo of the station at the site which was within a few feet of the construction path, and said that station had been used to monitor the river and support water rights calls on the Slate River.

“We contacted USGS to get some information from them as well as what we needed to do to protect any other kind of infrastructure there,” relayed Chavez. She said USGS had several survey pins they wanted to protect as important reference points for the gauge, asked about the duration and extent of construction in that area.

“It really takes years to develop a stable, long-term record that is reliable and accurate at these stations,” Chavez explained. She said the gauge measures cross sections of the river multiple times to take float measurements and gather other data. 

Chavez said that site had been in place for 26 years, “So it had a really good record. Unfortunately, with the construction project that’s happening we are going to have to restart that discharge relationship.” 

Chavez said typically USGS staff monitor the Gunnison Basin for the UGRWCD four to six times per year as part of their funding agreement, but they will need to come down more frequently for a few years to re-establish the discharge relationship at the gauge station on the Slate. She asked commissioners if they would consider supporting the financial costs of those additional trips over the course of the next three years or so to re-establish the readings there.

When there are calls on the Slate, the UGRWCD uses the gauge to determine what amount of water to release and which junior water right holders to shut down to get enough water into the system. 

Chavez said they haven’t been able to use the site to administer calls on the Slate River this year, because any debris or sediment that changes the bottom of the riverbed throws off the discharge relationship and data. 

Chavez shared that to be good stewards of the environment, the district kept releasing water out of Meridian Lake Reservoir in the absence of any data to help support the stream system. 

Chavez said the district has also received calls from the public about the impacts to the wetlands around the Slate, and county commissioner Laura Puckett Daniels said she too has heard those concerns from the public and from other water experts.

Planning for reclamation

Cattles responded on behalf of the Whetstone project team, and said the county will have to conduct reclamation after the construction finishes. 

“Timeline-wise, we should be completely across the river this week and reclamation of the wetland area will start later even while we are in the river. We are going to start that this week with re-establishing grades and getting the site ready. We won’t be able to plant grasses or anything until next spring but we will get everything ready,” he said. “We will maintain the water quality barricades,” he added, and described filters the team has in place to capture any water that comes off the disturbed area. Cattles said they are testing the water through independent contractors to ensure the water discharged has maintained its quality. 

Cattles said the county has obtained all permits required for the work they have conducted, and reported all the data required. He said that construction has gone on longer than the team had planned, and they have had a lot of equipment break down. “It’s been very challenging, but we’ve been in constant communication with the appropriate agencies,” he said. 

Puckett Daniels confirmed that the team also brought in an extra contractor to help move the work along faster. She acknowledged that the site has a lot of standing pools of water, clear disturbances and that the scene is upsetting for passersby to take in at such a highly visible area. She asked Cattles to provide more information on remediation at the next meeting. 

Meanwhile, commissioners indicated that they would be willing to engage in discussion about how to help the UGRWCD reclaim its gauge station. 

Chavez said it typically takes about three years for USGS to get accurate readings after they re-establish the station, and commissioner Houck said he was hopeful that the 26 years of good data could help with the modeling as they work to reclaim it. Chavez said she believed it would.

Commissioner Liz Smith asked if there was a step missed in permits or communication, and while Cattles reiterated that they did get all required permits to cross the river, Chavez requested that the river district also be included in the future.

“Anytime there is a stream crossing or there are ditches associated with the site, being one of those agencies that could be involved in that review process,” she said, would be better. She said they are sometimes notified, “but it is not as consistent as it could be.” 

Puckett Daniels emphasized that while all permits had been compliant, “The gauge for the stream was overlooked and we apologize for that.”

She repeated her request that Cattles give a more thorough update next week on the construction delays, timeline, impacts and remediation.