The Bureau of Land Management is restoring up to 11 cubic feet per second of water previously diverted to the Uncompahgre River Basin back to the headwaters of the Animas River north of Silverton.
That’s a win for fish, other aquatic wildlife and mining remediation, said Trout Unlimited’s Mining Coordinator Ty Churchwell, because the water will dilute heavy metals to less toxic concentrations. Both the national organization of Trout Unlimited and the local Five Rivers chapter provided financial assistance with the acquisition.
The 11-cubic-foot diversion is about 10% of the river’s total current flows in Silverton before the confluence with Cement Creek.
“The Mineral Point Ditch project restores natural water flows, improving a popular recreation area and addressing the remediation of historic mines,” said BLM Colorado State Director Doug Vilsack in a news release. “This acquisition is a critical step toward enhancing the environmental and recreational value of this area.”
The previous owner held the rights to divert the water through the Mineral Point Ditch – before it entered Burrows Creek – over into the Uncompahgre Basin for agricultural use. This resulted in a 100% depletion of that water from the Animas River.
“We’re believers in keeping water higher in water systems throughout the year,” said Trout Unlimited Five Rivers Chapter President Kara Armano. “It keeps cold water higher in the water system longer and can recharge the watershed.”
The BLM paid $297,000 – fair market value – to buy the water right from a willing seller, agency spokeswoman Katie Palubicki said in an email to The Durango Herald, using funding from the Land and Water Conservation Fund and the agency’s Abandoned Mine Lands program to acquire the right.
“BLM focuses on purchases that have the biggest benefits for the management of public lands,” Palubicki wrote. “In this case, the water right was capable of diverting the entire flow of Burrows Creek, so protecting and reestablishing the hydrology of a stream is a major public benefit.”
Although the BLM is not required to keep the water in-stream in perpetuity, the agency is prohibited from selling the right to other parties. The Colorado Water Conservation Board has indicated it will accept an offer from the BLM to lease the water right in perpetuity to the state for in-stream flow purposes.
Trout Unlimited’s national organization pitched in a little over $3,000 and the Five Rivers chapter pitched in over $5,000 to cover the legal fees of the seller, for which Armano extended gratitude to the chapter’s donors.
Burrows Creek runs through the Boston Mine site, one of 48 remediation sites within the Bonita Peak Mining District Superfund designation.
“Although it does have some intermingling with one of the Superfund sites, the purpose for it was to bring more clean water in at the top of the watershed, to help dilute metals further down in the system, and overall, just add more base flow to the entire system,” Churchwell said.
rschafir@durangoherald.com
