menuMain Menu

North Fork Water Conservancy District

A view of the North Fork Valley (from the Fire Mtn Canal – Garvin Mesa)

The Paonia Project is located in west-central Colorado and provides full and supplemental irrigation water supplies for 15,300 acres of land in the vicinity of Paonia and Hotchkiss. Project construction includes Paonia Dam and Reservoir and enlargement and extension of the Fire Mountain Canal. Paonia Reservoir stores flows from Muddy Creek, upstream of its confluence with the North Fork of the Gunnison River.  Downstream, the Fire Mountain Diversion Dam and Canal divert flows for delivery to project lands in the Fire Mountain and Leroux Creek Division.

Prinicipal live stock production in the area include dairy and beef cattle and primary crops grown include grass hay, applies, peaches, and cherries. For additional information about the Paonia Project plan, history, authorization, and benefits, please click here – Reclamation, Western CO Area Office Website)

Fire Mountain Canal Improvement Project, a component of  The Lower Gunnison Project

 Fact Sheet – January 2019

 Project Description: This project includes piping 22,400 feet of open earthen lateral with closed HDPE, or suitable pipe, and the development of low-head pressure. Additional automated flow controls, screens, gates, valves and meters will also be installed throughout the canal system to enable operators to better control the delivery and allocation of water along the system.  These improvements will dramatically reduce losses and increase system efficiency.

The Fire Mountain Canal Improvement Project is a multi-year, phased implementation project that is cooperatively managed and funded by a series of partners as described below.

1.) Implementation of Pipeline and Siphon

FUNDING SOURCE | FUNDING AMOUNT
Cooperatively Managed by the Colorado River District

  • North Fork Water Conservancy District – $100,000
  • Fire Mountain Canal and Reservoir Company – $100,000
  • National Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) – $1,154,948
  • Colorado Water Conservation Board RCPP Technical Assistance – $170,200
  • Gunnison Basin Roundtable Water Supply Reserve Fund – $120,000
  • Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Program – $2,954,512

TOTAL PIPING PROJECT FUNDING:  $ 4,600,000

This project includes the following components (please see maps attached):

  • Pipe 22,400 feet of the Fire Mountain Canal
  • Install screening structure
  • Install new headgates

Natural Resource & Other Project Benefits

  • Water-quality: Selenium reduction range of 24-95 lbs/year
    Salinity reduction estimated at 2,365 tons/year.
  • Irrigation Water Delivery System Efficiency: Eliminates losses estimated at 490-3071 ac-ft/year.
  • Irrigation Water Management: This project is the first step to creating an “on-demand” irrigation delivery system that will enable better management of approximately 50,000 ac-ft/year of water delivered per year.
  • Provides Pressurized Deliveries to interested landowners
  • Endangered Species Habitat Improvement: Piping open earthen laterals reduces selenium loading to occupied critical fish habitat in the Lower Gunnison and Colorado Rivers
  • Enables Soil Health Practices: Conversion to high efficiency irrigation systems enables on-farm soil health practices that cannot be carried out under typical wild flood or gated pipe irrigation.
  • Drought Resiliency: Having metered deliveries will allow operators to operate the system more efficiently; enables landowners to respond to on-going drought conditions in the Gunnison River Basin.

Piping Construction Schedule
The Fire Mountain Canal Piping Project began in the fall of 2018 and should be completed in the spring of 2020.  More detailed construction information will be available as the project moves forward.

Environmental & Cultural Resource Compliance Schedule
Environmental and cultural resource compliance has taken place with project-specific analysis and decision documents published by the Bureau of Reclamation in September 2018 (https://www.usbr.gov/uc/envdocs/ea/FireMountainCanalSalinityReductionPipingProject-FinalEAandFONSI.pdf) , additional analysis and disclosure was completed by the NRCS and associated decision documents in April 2018 https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/PA_NRCSConsumption/download?cid=nrcseprd1404422&ext=pdf .

2.) Implementation of Controls – Supervisory Control & Data Acquisition (SCADA)

Project Description: This project will optimize and modernize the existing canal by implementing by automating 7 wasteways gates to maintain the canal, automating 5 turnouts and 5 flow measurement stations in order to move toward an “on-demand” system.  Additionally, there SCADA controls will be installed at each location, providing real time flow data and recording at the District Office.

The SCADA project is being funded in partnership with:

FUNDING SOURCE | FUNDING AMOUNT
Cooperatively Managed by the Colorado River District

North Fork Water Conservancy District – $16,600
NRCS Regional Conservation Partnership Program – $127,600
TOTAL PROJECT FUNDING:  $144,200

Natural Resource & Other Project Benefits
The primary intent of this project is the modernization and conversion of the existing direct delivery system which is based upon an “always-on” supply-driven system, to a much more well-timed, irrigation and producer “demand-driven” system through more timely data.  In summary, this project will improve:

  • Education: The availability of water use data in real-time may help to change behavior related to over-use of existing water supplies.
  • Water-quality: Ancillary water-quality improvements will be realized through the reduction of unnecessary spills, over deliveries, and the ability to store water for critical times of the year.
  • Irrigation Water Delivery System Efficiency: A SCADA system will allow staff to more quickly respond to daily irrigation demands or storm events such that critical water supplies, when available, that can be stored in upstream reservoirs for use later in the season and for improving public health and safety.
  • Public Health & Safety: A SCADA system will allow staff to more quickly respond to storm events and address public health and safety.
  • Air-quality/carbon reduction: Reduction in the number of vehicle trips to monitor irrigation deliveries will reduce carbon inputs.
  • Endangered Species Habitat: Piping open earthen laterals reduces selenium loading to occupied critical fish habitat in the Lower Gunnison and Colorado Rivers
  • Drought resiliency: Allows landowners to respond to changing climatic conditions in the Gunnison Basin by being more efficient with available water supplies and eliminating unnecessary spills and / or over deliveries.

Environmental & Cultural Resource Compliance Schedule
Environmental and cultural resource compliance activities was completed in April 2018 through the RCPP Watershed NEPA process https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/PA_NRCSConsumption/download?cid=nrcseprd1404422&ext=pdf .

Construction Schedule
It is anticipated that this SCADA project will be completed over a three year period (2018-2020).

Map 1: Location of North Fork Water Conservancy and Fire Mountain Canal Improvement Project

 

Map 2A: North Fork Focus Area with Fire Mountain Canal Improvement Project

Map 2B: North Fork Focus Area with Fire Mountain Canal Improvement Project

Map 3: Detailed Fire Mountain Canal Improvement Project map showing sub-project segments