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Photo shows the dam prior to the start of demolition in October. photo courtesy of Colorado Parks and Wildlife

CPW lifts closure on Ark River after dam removed near Salida, enhancing public safety

The low-head dam on the Arkansas River some 1.5 miles west of Salida has been the subject of conversations between Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) and Chaffee County commissioners for years, as CPW prepared to remove the dam, which had outlived its original usefulness, and was identified as a deadly hazard. Now with the dam removed and public safety enhanced, CPW has lifted closure on the Arkansas River.

This low-head dam was built on the Arkansas River in 1956 to provide water to hatcheries. It was rebuilt in 1988 with a boat chute, seen on the right, to provide a safe passage for watercraft. Thursday, CPW lifted its closure of the Arkansas River above Salida which was  imposed last month to allow the removal of the low-head dam and the adjacent boat chute that was upstream from CPW’s Mount Shavano State Fish Hatchery.

 

The dam was removed and rock structures were placed in the river channel to slow water flow and create fish habitat. The structures are visible from the aerial photos.

The river was reopened as crews completed removal of the dam and an adjacent boat chute, said Tom Waters, CPW’s Park Manager for the Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area, which encompasses 152 miles of the river.

“We are happy to announce the river is open again, weeks sooner than expected, to instream recreation,” said CPW’s Park Manager Tom Waters. “The closure and mandatory portage signs have been removed and the buoy line barrier across the river has been taken down.”

Waters leads the management of 152 miles of the Arkansas River from Leadville to Pueblo. He said final clean-up work along the banks should be done by Nov. 23.

“By removing the dam, we have eliminated a deadly threat to the thousands who boat on this popular stretch of the Arkansas River each year,” said Waters. River water, spilling over the dam, churned at the bottom of the dam structure, creating a powerful hydraulic that capsized and trapped boaters and swimmers. Since 2010, three people have died at the dam.

The Arkansas River now flows unobstructed into Salida. Crews will continue to clean up the river banks over the coming days.

Removing the dam also enhances the movements of fish – brown trout, rainbow trout, and native white suckers – by easing migration access to about 85 miles of the Gold Medal river upstream. Barriers like the dam limit genetic diversity by essentially isolating segments of the river’s fish population.

The ability of fish to move freely in a river also helps to prevent overpopulation by balancing the amount of habitat and forage with the number of fish it can support.

“This project is a great example of how CPW works with its local partners to accomplish important projects for the public,” said CPW’s Southeast Region Deputy Regional Manager April Estep. She specifically praised CPW’s partners, including the Chaffee County Board of County Commissioners, who provided $100,000 toward the $1.1 million removal effort.

The dam has not been used as a hatchery water supply since 2000 after whirling disease was detected in the river. Whirling disease is caused by a parasite that infects rainbow trout, leaving them deformed and swimming in circles before it quickly kills the youngest fish. CPW spent $1.5 million at the hatchery to convert it to clean spring water to raise its fish.

Crews started by sealing off the boat chute and using excavators to remove the chute structure, creating a smooth river bottom so the Arkansas River could be diverted through it.

Then crews built a dam to channel the main flow of the river through the old chute so excavators could begin breaking up the dam.

Finally, the dam was removed and rock structures were placed in the river channel to slow water flow and create fish habitat. The structures are visible from the aerial photos.

The Arkansas River now flows unobstructed into Salida. Crews will continue to clean up the river banks over the coming days.