Montrose, CO
The Uncompahgre River through the City of Montrose has been heavily impacted. In-stream mining operations, channelization and a highly altered flow regime all contributed to a river that is highly unstable and providing low ecological function. ERC was hired by the City to develop, permit and implement river and riparian corridor improvements that offset historic impacts and put the river and its floodplain in a condition that maximized aquatic and terrestrial habitat given current project constraints. Improvements for the Phase 1 project included over a mile of new main channel and side channel development. Channel alignments, profiles and cross sections were based on reestablishing a configuration that was stable given the river’s high sediment load and prolonged high flow periods. Twenty riffle/pool/glide features were constructed and over a mile of bank stabilization completed using an assortment of structural and bioengineered approaches. Twelve acres of connected floodplain was created and planted with native vegetation as part of the overall restoration work.