Fed up with sediment loading

We – the fishermen and women, fishing goods stores, fishing guides, boating community and landowners on the Animas River downstream of Lightner Creek – are fed up with the City of Durango’s unwillingness to address the sediment loading issue from Lightner Creek into the Animas River. First, we understand the sediment loading comes from the highly erosive Mancos Shale up Perins Canyon, behind the Tech Center. What we don’t understand is the City’s unwillingness to properly work to mitigate this sediment loading.

Runoff during rainstorms moved through a culvert under Rosemary Lane and into Lightner Creek. In the late aughts or early 2010s, there was a tremendous rainstorm on Perins Peak that resulted in the tearing out of the old culvert mentioned above. As a result, the City built a proper box culvert of concrete to convey the runoff to Lightner Creek. In addition, the City built a triangular shaped basin to allow the runoff to slow down before going through the culvert and into Lightner Creek. Unfortunately, the City made what I think was a conscious decision not to install a baffle on the downstream end of the basin that would allow sediment to settle out because that would have meant periodically having to clean out the basin.

Recently, with the development of new homes on Rosemary Lane, a baffle was retrofitted into the basin to become a sediment capture basin (SCB), possibly imposed on the home’s developer. Unfortunately, this baffle is not tall enough to make the SCB totally effective. Further, until recently, the City has been reluctant to spend the money to clean out the SCB.

Next up is the sediment loading coming from above the Tech Center. This sediment loading is from the highly erosive Mancos shale on Perins Peak (east side) and the snow removed from city streets that is deposited at the top of the flow path down to Lightner Creek. This flow path includes a couple of very small settling depressions (too small to be called ponds or basins) and then a flow path of compacted Mancos Shale widening out to a concrete wall with a culvert in the bottom and a trash screen on top, effectively allowing the flows to continue unabated down the center of Tech Center Drive directly into Lightner Creek.

Now, why should the City care about this other than that a portion of its citizenry are irate and complaining? Because, it is a storm water issue that the City is legally required to address. Beyond that, you’d think the City would want to protect the Gold Medal fishery that starts at the confluence of Lightner Creek and the Animas River, protect the Smelter Whitewater Park (created at significant cost) and work to be sure the Animas presents its best “face” to our citizens and, very importantly, our visitors.

This brings us to money. Unfortunately, the City funds storm water management out of the General Fund, which means it takes a back seat to more important funding such as law enforcement, mandated requirements, etc. I was on a focus group recently that was convened to inform the City on how to provide storm water management with dedicated funding. So far, I see no move to establish this absolutely needed source of funding. Incidentally, I have confidence in and admiration for the City’s Storm Water Management Team.

Here is what is needed to address the most egregious sediment loading in Lightner Creek. First off, clean out the SCBs every time sufficient sediment fills it up. Second, completely redesign and construct out of concrete a functioning SCB at the top of the Tech Center. Third, raise the level of the baffle on the SCB at the bottom of Perins Canyon.  

Where do we get the money? Five Rivers Trout Unlimited stands ready to partner with the City to make most of this happen. There is a lot of grant money available for this kind of work, and 5RTU can help with leveraging grants and will help with the design work. We just need the City to say, “Let’s do it.”

As the author of this piece, I have had conversations with several current councilors and did a show and tell tour of the sites with one. Further, I welcome the opportunity to help get the ball rolling on this much-needed control of storm water.

– Buck Skillen, past board member and president, Five Rivers Trout Unlimited