Upper Colorado Watershed Assessment
We have completed the process to complete a watershed assessment and prioritization for the Upper Colorado Watershed. The assessment follows a procedure prescribed by the Front Range Watershed Protection Data Refinement Work Group titled “Protecting Critical Watersheds in Colorado from Wildfire: A Technical Approach to Watershed Assessment and Prioritization”. See the sidebar for a link to more information on the Data Refinement Work Group.
The Upper Colorado Watershed Assessment has identified, prioritized, and recommended measures to protect those watersheds that provide or convey critical community water supplies from the adverse effects of post-wildfire hydrologic changes, including flooding, erosion, deposition, and introduction of potential contaminants.
One of the goals of this assessment is to gather the key stakeholders together to communicate the suggested process, listen to any suggested changes, and build collaborative support for the assessment process. We have completed four stakeholder meetings and have a large, diverse group that is very engaged. The results are posted on a blog for your review.