Crested Butte Outdoor Irrigation Improvements through Community Collaboration are a Model for the Region — Jorge Figueroa

From the Western Resource Advocates blog (Jorge Figueroa):

A recent voluntary effort in the Town of Crested Butte to improve water use is a great example of a community taking steps to protect its creeks and rivers.

While there can be controversial issues related to water management, water efficiency is one of the solutions where many community members can find common ground. A recent voluntary effort in the Town of Crested Butte to improve water use is a great example of a community taking steps to protect its creeks and rivers.

In October, the Town of Crested Butte, High Country Conservation Advocates (HCCA), and Western Resource Advocates (WRA) collaborated to replace an open ditch from 6th to 7th Street in town (called the McCormick Ditch) with a pipe. The ditch takes water from Coal Creek to be used for various community irrigation uses, including irrigating the local Gothic Ball Field. Piping the unlined open air ditch reduces water loss to seepage, evaporation, and water-sucking weeds. This in turn reduces the amount of water being diverted out of the creek, leaving more water in the creek for fish and wildlife. In addition, piping the ditch makes maintenance easier and cheaper for the town, lowers the occurrence of blockages caused by flooding, and makes it safer for children playing in the vicinity.

This 6th to 7th Street piping project is part of a larger effort by the Town of Crested Butte to improve water efficiency along the entire McCormick Ditch and in town irrigation systems.

In August the Crested Butte Parks and Recreation Department also partnered with WRA and the Center for Resource Conservation to complete a comprehensive audit of the Town’s outdoor irrigation systems to maximize irrigation efficiency once water reaches irrigated parks. The assessment found irrigation systems to be in overall good condition and identified minor retrofit improvements.

HCCA and WRA staff helped secure grant funding from the Upper Gunnison River Water Conservancy District for the 6th to 7th Street McCormick Ditch piping project. WRA also provided funding for the water audit of the Town park system, and for the irrigation retrofit improvements recommended in the audit. The willingness of the Town of Crested Butte to champion water efficiency and work with local organizations is a model for other communities – showing how efficiency investments meet community needs while also helping keep more water in creeks and rivers to support fish, wildlife and recreation. It’s not just the technical efficiency that is important to highlight, but how conservationists, local government, water conservancy districts, and other community stakeholders can voluntarily collaborate on projects benefiting everyone.

HCCA and WRA commend the Town of Crested Butte on these voluntary efforts to improve water use and look forward to future partnerships throughout the region.