Mitigation Actions

The Upper Gunnison River Basin has many existing community drought-related initiatives. This action supports continued engagement in workgroups and planning processes relating to drought mitigation.

Steps for Implementation

Develop outreach strategies for specific audiences and water sectors. Outreach needs range from sharing water supply forecasts to water administration to education.

Steps for Implementation

Improve communication between the Bureau of Reclamation, Upper Gunnison Basin water users, and the public. The community seeks additional communication around annual operations, management of releases for Drought Response Emergency Releases, and operations associated with winter icing protocol(s).

Steps for Implementation

The UGDP recommends continued support to improve forecasting tools. Technologies, such as forecasting modeling, become more reliable as more data is collected, maintained over the long term, and shared broadly. While many of those tools exist, there is a need for additional information at both a local and regional scale. To improve these models, new infrastructure such as soil moisture monitoring sensors, stream gages, and/or Snow Telemtry (SNOTEL) sites should be installed and upgraded. In addition to on-the-ground data collection, emerging technologies such as Airborne Snow Observatories (ASO) flights[1] [2]  and monitoring of dust-on-snow events should be incorporated into forecasting.

Steps for Implementation

The UGDP supports existing tools used for agricultural best management practices as well as the expansion of these activities. Programs and guidance are currently available through the NRCS, federal agencies, and Colorado State University Extension offices. This action identifies multiple activities that, when implemented, create drought resiliency.

This all-encompassing action emphasizes that there is no one-size-fits-all solution. The development of a functioning conditions assessment of various efforts could help identify priority areas and focus resources. These different approaches enable flexibility and adaptability in selecting the most suitable actions for specific contexts. This action encompasses three key areas of focus: food supply (rangeland, irrigated pasture, baled hay), water management on public lands, and public land management.

Steps for Implementation

The UGDP supports implementing activities that improve irrigation water delivery and on-ranch efficiencies. This action proposes improving agricultural delivery infrastructure where appropriate. These improvements could include headgate and diversion upgrades, automation, auto tarps, soil moisture sensors, ditch lining, and other enhancements. On-ranch efficiency improvements could focus on improving irrigation application types, drought tolerant pasture mixes, and other management needs.

Steps for Implementation

The UGDP supports the ongoing study of flood irrigation practices and basin return flow dynamics and their potential impacts on groundwater and surface water interactions in the Upper Gunnison River Basin. The objective of this study is to characterize and model surface water and groundwater interactions in the Upper Gunnison River Basin with a focus on agricultural return flows in the assessed reach(s).

The proposed study will rely on integrated groundwater monitoring, surface-water monitoring, geochemical data collection, interpretation, and modeling.

Steps for Implementation

The goal of this action is to support the agricultural community by increasing general public awareness around agriculture in the basin, providing opportunities for producers to share their knowledge, and developing new educational materials that are tailored to producers in the Upper Gunnison River Basin. For example, many ranchers and land managers rely on subbasin and regional data to make decisions.

This action seeks to make this data more widely available and accessible, especially to newcomers to the basin. This action will raise awareness of opportunities for the agricultural community to work with partners in implementing programs that support improved management practices and drought resilience.

Steps for Implementation

The UGDP supports the implementation of activities that create drought resilience in natural meadows, riparian zones, and other habitats within the Upper Gunnison River Basin. Existing activities include erosion control, wet meadows restoration, cheatgrass treatment, and low-tech process-based restoration efforts. These activities focus on habitat resilience across the landscape.

Steps for Implementation

The UGDP supports continued community-driven, voluntary coordination among water users in areas that experience frequent diminished streamflow during times of drought. A 2018 pilot project led by Trout Unlimited at the Tomichi Creek State Wildlife Area (SWA) serves as an example. The project included six participating irrigation diversions, extensive surface and groundwater modeling, and a voluntary water leasing mechanism to provide short-term relief to the stressful conditions in the fishery that were attributed to drought.

There are numerous lessons learned from the project that can be applied to future opportunities. The pilot project demonstrates that cooperation between different types of water users can find mutually beneficial solutions.

Steps for Implementation

The UGDP supports implementing activities that eliminate or reduce water quality impacts during drought. For example, activities could focus on improving discharge concentrations from mining sites without point source discharge permits. Another opportunity could be to work with existing point-source discharge permit holders to ensure requirements are met in times of drought.

Steps for Implementation

The UGDP supports investigating opportunities to help recreation service providers diversify their services in times of drought and improve recreation infrastructure accessibility during low-flow or low reservoir periods.

Steps for Implementation

The UGDP supports addressing the continuity of management for recreation access. The access management plan could assess low-head dams and other navigational hazards, collate existing river management plans, identify opportunities for multi-jurisdictional collaboration, and identify needs for access changes in the face of future water availability and use pattern changes.

One goal of the plan could be to provide information to users about the ideal times to recreate based on water levels, where recreation can be accessed, what to expect in terms of different management based on land ownership, and education on river etiquette and safety across a wide range of river flows. This work can be aligned with statewide initiatives like the Colorado Water Conservation Board and American Whitewater’s Quantifying Recreational Impacts and Identifying Enhancement Opportunities Phase 2.

Steps for Implementation

The UGDP supports an action specific to improving communication and education among municipal providers across the basin. Routine communication among providers, along with a common understanding of each other’s systems, goals, and needs, will be beneficial as providers implement drought-resilience activities.

Steps for Implementation

Encourage and support the development of a drought response plan for municipal providers. This planning process would allow municipal water providers to convene routinely to discuss not only drought response actions but also to share information and collaborate on other projects.

Steps for Implementation

Many water providers in the basin are currently implementing actions to help mitigate wildfire risk and drought and create resilience. Each provider is unique in the challenges they face daily or throughout the year. The size of a water provider’s service area and the amount of water treated vary significantly across the basin.

Steps for Implementation

The UGDP supports implementing garden demonstration projects that promote wise water use, native plants, manicured, high-density grass replacement programs, and education on water conservation and xeriscaping.

Steps for Implementation