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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMemo - Mail Packet - 03/18/2025 - Memorandum from Darren Parkin re Potential Poudre River Gateway Diversion Boat Passage AdditionUtilities electric · stormwater · wastewater · water PO Box 580 Fort Collins, CO 80522 970.416.2100 V/TDD: 711 nponcelet-johnson@fcgov.com fcgov.com/utilities 1 of 4 MEMORANDUM Date: March 10, 2025 To: Mayor and City Councilmembers Through: Kelly DiMartino, City Manager Tyler Marr, Deputy City Manager Nicole Poncelet-Johnson, One Water Executive Director From: Darren Parkin, Halligan Project Manager Subject: Potential Poudre River Gateway Diversion Boat Passage Addition BOTTOM LINE The purpose of the memo is to address questions raised by Councilmember Pignataro at the December 3, 2024, City Council meeting regarding the potential addition of boat passage to the City’s Gateway diversion on the Poudre River, a concept being proposed by American Whitewater (AWW) and the five local river outfitting companies (Outfitters). The genesis of the question stems from public comments made at the meeting by both AWW and the Outfitters. The Councilmember questioned whether there is work that staff can do to better understand if pursuing boat passage would indeed result in significant delays to the permitting process for the Halligan Water Supply Project (Halligan). Staff evaluated three options for the Gateway diversion: (1) fish passage only, (2) combined fish and boat passage, and (3) public/private partnership (P3) for the fish and boat passage. Options one and two would be fully funded through Halligan. Table 1 provides a summary of the evaluation. Docusign Envelope ID: 65E68225-8DFE-4E06-A9AF-339F280DCC96 2 of 4 Table 1: Evaluation of Passage Options (please read important footnotes) Option 1 Option 2 Option 3 Factors Fish Passage Fish and Boat Passage P3 Fish and Boat Passage Estimated Project Duration* 2 Years 2.5 Years 2.5 to 3 Years Estimated Capital Cost to Halligan Project** $1.2M ($300k for Design and $900k for Construction) $4.1M ($500k for Design and $3.6M for Construction, $2.1M (50% cost share of Option 2) Results in significant permitting delays No No No Risk: lacks safe in-stream boat passage*** X Risk: Liability of boaters on City property X X Risk: Additional cost to maintain river recreation area X X Risk: Potential to create conflict between anglers and boaters in this reach of the river X X Risk: Potential to exceed Halligan mitigation deadline X Benefit: Opens 6-miles of beginner to intermediate level river recreation and connects 64 miles of navigable river.*** (Supports Council goals Env1 and Env2) X X Benefit: Mitigates double vehicle shuttles minimizing Hwy 14 traffic*** X X Benefit: Creates full day guided options for Outfitters*** X X *Includes time for design, permitting, and construction. Fish and boat passage will require more design and construction time. P3 includes additional time to negotiate and secure private funding. **Concept level estimates are -30% to +50% accurate. ***Per 7/25/23 Letter from River Outfitters to the City of Fort Collins. Assumes fish and boat passage around Gateway and Munroe diversions. Northern Water and the North Poudre Irrigation Company control potential modifications to the Munroe diversion. Docusign Envelope ID: 65E68225-8DFE-4E06-A9AF-339F280DCC96 3 of 4 SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATION Based on staff’s research and recent discussions with state and federal partners, none of the options would result in significant permitting delays. Option 1 meets all mitigation requirements while limiting cost and scope expansion of Halligan. Option 2 expands benefits, increases the complexity and cost while meeting mitigation requirements. Option 3 is lower in cost to the City than Option 2 but potentially pushes the project past the mitigation deadline due to time spent negotiating a public/private partnership. Absent direction from Council, staff will continue with Option 1. If Council prefers a different option, please provide expediated communication of the direction to maintain the Halligan schedule. Note: Installing a fish passage now and adding boat passage later would result in two major disruptions to the river. The design and function are different and available space is limited, so a dedicated fish passage would need to be demolished if a fish and boat passage were to be constructed in its place later. BACKGROUND As part of the environmental mitigation package for Halligan as defined in the Fish and Wildlife Mitigation and Enhancement Plan (Mitigation Plan), there is an obligation to install a fish passage around the City’s Gateway diversion. Fort Collins Utilities (Utilities) uses this structure to divert water into the Fort Collins Pipeline, which delivers water to the Utilities water treatment facility. The fish passage would provide connectivity to allow fish, primarily trout, to move above and below the diversion. It is located about 6 miles upstream of the Poudre Canyon mouth on City-owned land that Utilities manages, that is not currently and has not historically been open to the public. It is not located on the City’s adjacent Gateway Natural Area, which is open to the public. Unlike many states, Colorado allows landowners to block public access to streams, including the ability to prevent boaters from floating on a river through others’ property. Docusign Envelope ID: 65E68225-8DFE-4E06-A9AF-339F280DCC96 4 of 4 Aware of the FWMEP fish passage mitigation, the Outfitters submitted a letter to Council in July 2023, requesting that boat passage also be incorporated at the Gateway diversion. Shortly thereafter AWW contacted Utilities staff with a similar request. Both entities have since combined their efforts, and enlisted Recreation Engineering and Planning, a Colorado Engineering firm, to assist in their conceptual design. The same request for boat passage was also concurrently made to Northern Water concerning the Munroe Gravity Canal diversion located a short distance upstream of the Gateway diversion. Northern Water was not interested at the tim e but is agreeable to looking into the boat passage further in coordination with Utilities. Initial Utilities staff response was to not to pursue boat passage, and AWW was denied access to the Gateway diversion. This was for many reasons but primarily due to the perceived risk posed to the overall Halligan timeline, based on the information available at the time. However, AWW and the Outfitters were persistent in their efforts and staff was ultimately directed by the City Manager’s Office (Tyler Marr), prompted in part by Councilwoman Pignataro and County Commissioner Kefalas, to provide AWW and their design firm access to the Gateway diversion to develop the conceptual design and cost estimate, which have been completed and are included in this memo. The Gateway diversion fish passage must be operational by the time Halligan is complete, unless Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) agrees to an alternate completion schedule. Assuming no major delays due to litigation or other unforeseen factors, Halligan is anticipated to be operational by the end of 2029. For more information regarding the Gateway Diversion and types of bypasses, please see the attached Gateway Bypass Comparison Technical Memorandum. CC: Carrie Daggett, City Attorney Eric Potyondy, Senior Assistant City Attorney Docusign Envelope ID: 65E68225-8DFE-4E06-A9AF-339F280DCC96 Utilities 700 Wood St. PO Box 580 Fort Collins, CO 80522 (307) 630-9414 dparkin@fcgov.com Page 1 of 9 TECHNICAL MEMORANDUM Date: March 10, 2025 To: Mayor and City Councilmembers Through: Kelly DiMartino, City Manager Tyler Marr, Deputy City Manager Nicole Poncelet-Johnson, One Water Executive Director From: Darren Parkin, Halligan Project Manager Subject: Gateway Bypass Comparison Types of Bypasses The Gateway diversion primarily consists of a concrete dam that traverses the river, which raises water levels so that water can be directed into the Fort Collins Pipeline, a municipal raw water pipeline. Diversions like this are common on Colorado rivers. Some diversions have “bypass” structures that allow water to flow past the diversion at certain times. There are a few common types:  Flow bypass: This type of structure allows water to bypass the dam. This can be as simple as a small gate on or next to the dam.  Fish bypass: This is a structure that allows water to bypass and is constructed to allow fish to pass over or around the dam when there are adequate flows.  Boat bypass: This is typically a larger structure that allows water to bypass and is constructed to allow human watercraft to pass over or around the dam when there are adequate flows. Details of the Current Gateway Diversion  A concrete dam with a height of ~9.5 feet spans the full width of the river. Docusign Envelope ID: 65E68225-8DFE-4E06-A9AF-339F280DCC96 Page 2 of 9  A water intake structure is located along the right (east) bank of the river.  A pedestrian bridge spans the river ~130 feet downstream of the dam.  The maximum diverted flow is 32.5 cubic feet per second (cfs), based on the total pipeline capacity.  The structure typically diverts 15-25 cfs from June through October, and 10-13 cfs the remainder of the year.  Located on land the City owns, which Utilities manages and is not and has not been open to the public. Fish Passage Only Option Docusign Envelope ID: 65E68225-8DFE-4E06-A9AF-339F280DCC96 Page 3 of 9 Conceptual Design for Fish Passage Only  Current operation of the Gateway Diversion to divert water into the Fort Collins Pipeline would not be compromised.  A vertical slot fish ladder is a concrete structure that allows fish to burst swim a short distance through a narrow slot and then rest in a pool between before moving up the ladder. o Fish ladder has a drop of 6 inches between each pool. o A total of 20 pools are required to overcome the drop of the dam. o Minimum water depth 6 inches, maximum velocity 5 cfs. o Will function in a range of conditions from 10 cfs to 1,300 cfs. Docusign Envelope ID: 65E68225-8DFE-4E06-A9AF-339F280DCC96 Page 4 of 9 Combined Boat/Fish Passage Option Conceptual Design for Combined Boat/Fish Passage  Current operation of the Gateway Diversion to divert water into the Fort Collins Pipeline would not be compromised.  Performance specifications for fish passage would remain the same as the fish passage only option (see Fish Passage Only Option above). o A channel with a natural bottom would be dug around the left (west) edge of the diversion dam large enough to allow commercial-sized rafts to pass through. o The channel would utilize a series of four drop pools with each pool having a fish passage component. Docusign Envelope ID: 65E68225-8DFE-4E06-A9AF-339F280DCC96 Page 5 of 9 o The rafts would drop over the edges of the pools and large bodied fish would be able to jump over these drops, maximum height 6 inches. o A gravel portage trail would also be constructed to allow boat passage during times of very low or high flows. o As seen below, the boat put-in would be at mile 116 on this map, just above Gateway, and most boaters would be expected to take -out at Picnic Rock at mile 119. For shorter runs they could also take out at the Filter Plant SWA access. Docusign Envelope ID: 65E68225-8DFE-4E06-A9AF-339F280DCC96 Page 6 of 9 Permitting Requirements Fish and Wildlife Mitigation and Enhancement Plan (Mitigation Plan)  The Mitigation Plan document has been formally approved and adopted. Utilities has committed to adding fish passage to the Gateway diversion before Halligan is operational.  There is flexibility in the Mitigation Plan of adding a boat passage if it does not impact the fish passage. The compounding factor is the timeline for completing the structure.  Need to provide a formal intent to Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW ) to pursue boat passage. Larimer County 1041  The boat passage was not included for evaluation in the Halligan 1041 permit application to Larimer County that was submitted in late 2024 and is scheduled for approval hearings with the Planning Commission on February 19, and the County Commissioners on March 24, 2025.  While the 1041 permit will only approve fish passage, boat passage can be evaluated later and should not impact the Halligan timeline. National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Issues  Neither passage options would negatively impact overall Halligan permitting.  Both options would require a similar Clean Water Act Section 404 Nationwide Permit so the federal permitting timelines would be much the same. HB24-1379 Regulate Dredge & Fill Activities in State Waters  It is unclear how the passage options would be impacted by the recently adopted Colorado Dredge and Fill Program; further investigation is needed. Docusign Envelope ID: 65E68225-8DFE-4E06-A9AF-339F280DCC96 Page 7 of 9 Floodplain Permit Issues  The fish passage and the combined fish/boat passage both require a no-rise hydraulic analysis, so there are no differences in permitting timelines in this regard. Other Considerations  A Forest Service owner parcel near mile marker 116 would provide hand-carry boat access to the river. The site would not be viable for access for commercial operators; Forest Service commercial permitting would happen in the future if boat passage were added to the Munroe diversion. Consultation with Colorado Department of Transportation would be needed.3. Utilities has not historically allowed public access to its land or the river upstream of the Gateway Natural Area at and above the Gateway diversion.  Consultation with Natural Areas would be required regarding potential impacts to the Gateway Natural Area and future management of potential recreation along the river.  Liability concerns would have to be evaluated; most water users typically try to keep the public away from their diversions citing liability concerns.  Providing a boat bypass around the Gateway diversion could mitigate the significant safety hazard that currently exists.  Other entities should be consulted and potentially partnered with, including Northern Water, North Poudre Irrigation Company, Larimer County, U.S. Forest Service, and Larimer County Search and Rescue.  American Whitewater (AWW) leads an Aquatic Connectivity Team comprising Federal and Colorado agencies as well as non-governmental organizations that provide support to similar projects throughout the state. That team has a strong interest in a project at the Gateway diversion. AWW believes that the addition of boat passage would be well utilized by the river recreating public.  Save the Poudre’s Poudre River Mitigation and Enha ncement Fund includes, “Rebuild all diversion structures so the fish can swim upstream, and boats can pass downstream” as one of the many types of projects it would support. Docusign Envelope ID: 65E68225-8DFE-4E06-A9AF-339F280DCC96 Page 8 of 9  Impacts to anglers would need to be evaluated.  The boat passage could help support Council goals: ENV 1 - Sustain the health of the Cache la Poudre River and regional watersheds while delivering a resilient, economically responsible and high-quality water supply for all Fort Collins residents. ENV 2 - Expand, restore and maintain the Natural Areas land portfolio to improve habitat conditions across the community and ensure equitable access to nature. Homestake Arkansas River Diversion: Successful Boat/Fish Passage Project  Project completed in 2020  Allows boats and fish to travel the Arkansas River between Leadville and Cañon City.  Built by Colorado Springs and Aurora Water at the Homestake trans-mountain raw water collection diversion.  A two-year construction project, $9.1 million cost. Docusign Envelope ID: 65E68225-8DFE-4E06-A9AF-339F280DCC96 Page 9 of 9  Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW ) and the Colorado Water Conservation Board contributed a combined $1.2 million in support.  Created three channels in the river: one channel is a 650-foot-long boat chute with six drop structures, the second channel is a fish passage for rainbow and brown trout, with a third middle spillway for high water flooding events.  Homestake was designed to provide whitewater for kayaks while Gateway boat passage would be for the gentle passage of rafts. CPW has consistently voiced concerns over the inclusion of whitewater design elements in boat passages. CC: Carrie Daggett, City Attorney Eric Potyondy, Senior Assistant City Attorney Docusign Envelope ID: 65E68225-8DFE-4E06-A9AF-339F280DCC96