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State Bridge

Home1 / Water Planning2 / Colorado Basin Implementation Plan3 / State Bridge
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State Bridge Implementation Plan

Developed as part of the Colorado Basin Implementation Plan, which in turn contributed to Colorado’s statewide Water Plan.

The State Bridge Region consists of the Colorado River from below Kremmling at the top of Gore Canyon to Dotsero at the confluence with the Eagle River and includes Rock Creek, Piney River and Deep Creek. The Colorado River throughout this region has significant whitewater recreational amenities including Gore Canyon. This region is defined by the lack of significant municipal or industrial water uses. Water use in this region is mainly limited to ranching and irrigation along the tributaries and mainstem of the Colorado River. Included in the region is the largest average annual TMD imported to the Colorado River Basin for irrigation use into Rock Creek drainage called the Stillwater Ditch which conveys approximately 1,700 AFY.

Because of the large open spaces and low population present in the State Bridge Region, there are numerous areas being studied for identification as holding Outstandingly Remarkable Values (ORV) as part of the BLM and White River National Forest (WRNF) Wild & Scenic suitability assessment. The upper Colorado River and Deep Creek areas within this region are currently being studied for consideration for inclusion into the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. Eligibility and suitability studies are currently finished. Deep Creek segments have been recommended as ‘Suitable’ as of February 2014 and are currently in public comment/objector phase prior to final Record of Decision (ROD) by WRNF and BLM. Colorado River segments were found Suitable, but an official Suitability recommendation will be delayed pending acceptance of the Wild & Scenic Stakeholder Group’s Alternative Management Plan as the Preferred Alternative for the BLM’s 2014 updated Resource Management Plan. The Alternative Management Plan seeks to protect ORVs, but defers an official Suitability recommendation which might restrict the flexibility of water management options by upstream and downstream stakeholders (Hoblitzell and Loff, 2014).

Colorado Water Plan

View Plan

The largest identified threats to this region are the ongoing TMDs and associated reservoir operation schedules upstream in Summit and Grand Counties. The TMDs reduce needed flushing flows along the mainstem of the Colorado and dilution flows throughout the year which help keep the water temperature low to maintain existing ecosystems. The proposed Wolcott Reservoir, if built, could have a dramatic impact on this region. Wolcott Reservoir would be filled in part through water pumped from the Colorado River in the State Bridge Region.

The Colorado River Restoration & Conservation Project (CRRCP) is focused on identifying and implementing restoration and conservation projects on the Upper Colorado River reach in Eagle County. As part of the effort, the Eagle River Watershed Council (ERWC) has embarked on a “Colorado River Inventory and Assessment” (CRIA) to close the gap on the lack of research for this reach. Currently in final review, the CRIA provides important information on the primary natural and human drivers of the river ecosystem’s current state, and its potential future direction. The CRIA includes baseline information on aquatic and terrestrial communities in the mainstem Colorado River and select perennial tributaries, as well as reviewing threats and opportunities arising from river management upstream and downstream of the State Bridge Region. Sections of the report with special relevance to the Colorado BIP include preliminary quantification of nonconsumptive needs for habitat maintenance in the State Bridge Region via hydrologic alteration and flushing flows analyses.

Colorado Basin Implementation Plan

View Plan

Region Themes

State Bridge Region


Consumptive Uses

State Bridge Region


Environmental & Recreational Conditions

Themes and
Supporting Vulnerabilities
MethodsIdentified Projects
Protect and Restore Healthy Streams, Rivers, Lakes and Riparian Areas

  • Aquatic environmental habitat degradation
  • Unmet instream/nonconsumptive flows
  • Embeddedness of sediment from decreased peak flows on the Colorado River
  • Continued riparian degradation within the hayfield to river bank buffer
  • Impacts by existing and potential additional transmountain and in-basin diversions (Wolcott Reservoir and Green Mountain Pumpback, Moffat Tunnel Firming, Windy Gap Firming)
  • Colorado River Restoration and Conservation Project (CRRCP) and Colorado River Inventory and Assessment (CRIA)
  • Reinstate peak flushing flows
  • Coordinate with conservation districts to identify projects
  • Support CWCB instream flow applications in Colorado River
  • Document importance of Blue River flow temperature improvements to Colorado River
  • Identify tourism and recreation economy1 needs and funding opportunities
  • Eagle River Watershed Plan
  • Regional Section 208 Water Quality Management Plan
  • Gore Canyon RICD development
  • Colorado River Wild & Scenic Alternative process
  • Deep Creek Wild & Scenic classification
  • Coordinated flushing flow releases from upstream reservoirs
  • Colorado River Inventory and Assessment identified projects
Sustain Agriculture

  • Reduced agriculture irrigated acres
  • Use suggestions presented in the Agriculture Toolbox 2,3,4

(The above information was extracted from the Colorado Basin Implementation Plan and edited slightly to fit)

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