Severe drought, increased demand, aging infrastructure, and over-appropriation of water rights pose challenges to the West that can seem insurmountable. However, an inspiring river restoration project in a small community demonstrates how innovation, trust, and teamwork can lead to solutions that meet the needs of all stakeholders.
Deep in the rugged Juniper Canyon in northwest Colorado sits a ranching community and one of the largest irrigation diversions on the Yampa River. The original diversion was constructed in 1896 to channel water into an 18-mile canal that irrigated 2,500 acres of hay pastures and provided water for cattle.
But times have changed.
Like many areas across the West, years of drought and increasing use have lowered river levels, strained water rights, and created challenges for native wildlife and safe recreation.
The substantially completed new diversion and headgate. Photo: JHL ConstructorsThis project aimed to upgrade a deteriorated river infrastructure to benefit all those who rely on the river. It required removing boulders, replacing the current diversion for better fish passage and boater safety, and installing a new headgate with flow monitoring for efficient water delivery to drought-stricken ranchers.
It also faced significant construction challenges due to the rugged and protected land. Strong partnerships and collaboration were instrumental in all facets of the project, beginning with a partnership between The Maybell Irrigation District and The Nature Conservancy (TNC).
“The Yampa has a lot of straws that are pulling water out. In late July, August, and September it’s the low-flow season, and in the past, the river has almost gone bone-dry during droughts and when it’s had too much extracted,” said Jennifer Wellman, freshwater project director for The Nature Conservancy Colorado.
In addition, the antiquated and broken structure caused additional problems for all who rely on the wild river and its water supply. Ranchers faced a three-mile hike to open the broken headgate, which sometimes prevented them from accessing their water rights. The arched cobble diversion that spanned the width of the river hindered native fish passage and created a hazardous stretch for boaters.
It was painfully obvious that the entire structure needed an overhaul.
But as with many infrastructure problems that plague small towns, finding the funding and managing a complex restoration project was more than the Maybell Irrigation District could accomplish alone.
A beer saves the day
The original Maybell Diversion. Photo: JHL ConstructorsEstablished by the Colorado Legislature, the Colorado Basin Roundtables bring together water managers and stakeholders representing each of the nine basins to address critical water issues. At a 2018 meeting, the Maybell Diversion Project was tagged as the top priority of the Yampa-White-Green Basin, but even as a top priority, there was no funding and no one to manage the project.
Luckily, the mission of The Nature Conservancy is to work with communities to find solutions to the climate and biodiversity crisis, and they regularly have representatives at the roundtables.
After a Yampa-White-Green Basin Roundtable meeting in 2018, over a beer, Maybell Irrigation District reps met with TNC and Friends of the Yampa staff to determine a path forward for repairing the Maybell Diversion.
This marked the first real move toward a solution to a years-long problem.
The first cost estimate came in at $2 million, but at the beginning of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic and supply chain issues changed the game. Increasing costs caused one estimate to jump to $10 million.
“We quickly realized that we had to do some grant writing and put the word out to figure out how this problem gets fixed,” said Wellman.
For five years the team worked to raise money through private donations and state and federal grants. In 2022, two large grants—$1.92 million from the Bureau of Reclamation’s WaterSMART program and $2.8 million from the Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish Recovery Program—meant it was finally time to get this project underway.
One solution fits all
The task was to overcome movement challenges for water, boaters, and fish. River Restoration, J-U-B Engineers, and JHL Constructors were selected to design and complete the project. Massive involvement from donors, community groups, regulating bodies, conservation groups, recreation groups, and ranchers helped identify problems and inform the design and construction of the new headgate and diversion.
“During COVID times, we could just meet with a large group of people on Zoom, and it wound up working out great,” said Wellman. “We got American White Water and American Rivers and Friends of the Yampa and a lot of the organizations who care about protecting riverscapes involved and commenting on the design,” said Wellman.
The solution was a complete rebuild. Large rocks that were restricting passage were to be removed and the existing arched cobble construction was to be replaced with a stepped structure that connects two sections of floatable river with a constructed riffle at the diversion.
An access road was built (and later restored) down steep terrain to the river. Photo: JHL Constructors“It allows pools and aquatic connectivity so that there’s a low-flow channel and the fish can make their way up or down through the structure if needed,” said Wellman.
Finally, to ensure that water could efficiently and easily be diverted into the Maybell Ditch, the dilapidated headgate was removed and replaced with a modern version with remote access and flow monitoring devices.
Construction challenges
One of the biggest challenges facing this project was accessing it with the team and equipment required. It’s remote, rugged, and regulated. To get access to the diversion, a 3.5-mile road had to be built on land managed by the Bureau of Land Management. The road cut into the canyon was only 16 feet wide and led down steep terrain to the river.
“The Maybell Diversion project is an example of a multi-benefit project that recognized agricultural, environmental, and recreational values all falling under one umbrella.”
– Jennifer Wellman, The Nature Conservancy Colorado
Next, the team had to navigate machinery and large semis carrying massive boulders down the steep, narrow road. “We had to do one boulder at a time because these boulders weigh about 21 tons each,” said Charles Bisbee, senior project manager for JHL Constructors.
Concrete posed another challenging transportation conundrum. “With concrete, there’s a time limit from when the concrete truck has the cement in it to when it gets to its destination,” said Bisbee. JHL decided on tracked concrete mixers rented from the East Coast. “We’d get concrete trucks to the project, we’d offload the concrete into the tracked concrete mixers, and then we’d get those down the hill to its destination.”
The process worked beautifully until winter started closing in. A snowfall rendered the transport of concrete via tracked vehicles down the steep incline too dangerous. They could have stopped since the project was planned for two seasons, but so much headway had been made that the finish line was in sight. If they could finish before winter set in, they could avoid a second mobilization. Back at the drawing board, the team employed a different option: a helicopter.
Enter Mountain Blade Runner, a helicopter hoisting firm that specializes in construction operations and extreme ski trips, to help with the grout pour into the boulders. They utilized an open field and two concrete buckets. The first bucket was loaded and clipped onto the helicopter. While the helicopter flew it down to the river, the second bucket was loaded. The helicopter returned to the top, where the buckets were switched, and the process started all over again. “It was seamless. The helicopter could just go back and forth without having to stop,” said Bisbee.
As a result of innovative solutions, the construction team finished a full year early with a final price tag of $6.8 million. JHL even won two awards for their work: the American Public Works Association Award and the Engineering News Record Safety Award.
A road map for restorations—and maybe for humanity
Dilapidated infrastructure throughout the West is not uncommon, and it leads to wasted water and threats to wildlife, farmers, and recreation. Finding the path to a solution can be complicated and daunting. However, there are organizations that can help. “Collaborative solutions and partnerships tend to be successful in rural areas because many people can work together to develop and implement a plan. If a water management entity needs technical support, there are organizations willing to offer expertise in grant writing, engineering design review, or construction oversight,” said Wellman.
It might not always be who you think. We don’t always imagine rugged Colorado ranchers and conservation groups fighting for the same outcome. Throw in multiple funders, partners, and community members, and you’d think there would be a lot of friction.
Instead, The Maybell Diversion project demonstrates what can happen when diverse stakeholders listen to, respect, and utilize the different points of view and assets each party brings to the table. In this instance, it created a team that beat every challenge in its path.
“The Maybell Diversion project is an example of a multi-benefit project that recognized agricultural, environmental, and recreational values all falling under one umbrella,” said Wellman. “It was exciting, and it still is a wonderful relationship built on trust through years and years of working together.”
