Strontia Springs / Denver Water Sediment Management Program

Over the past two decades, sediment loading from the upstream watershed (550,000 acres) into the Strontia Springs Reservoir owned by Denver Water has created management challenges. Disturbances such as wildfires, hydrologic modifications, historical mining, agriculture, and residential and road developments have contributed to sediment loading problems. SWCA supported Denver Water in understanding sediment availability and loading by first performing a Watershed Assessment of River Stability and Sediment Supply (WARSSS) study quantifying sediment loading from watershed sources. Subsequently, SWCA developed a watershed sediment management plan, and accompanying decision support tools, to outline watershed restoration and sediment load reduction projects in the watershed. The final plan describes sediment issues in the watershed, identifies areas of concern to focus project efforts, outlines a 20-year implementation plan with prioritized projects, contains project slip sheets with conceptual designs for priority projects, and identifies potential funding opportunities. SWCA also developed a user-friendly story map, which presents relevant data, maps, and narratives in a visually appealing manner to aid in communication and organization to support implementation of the plan.