Click the link to read the article on The Gunnison Country Times website. Here’s an excerpt:
April 24, 2024
The Upper Gunnison River Water Conservancy District awarded $260,000 to organizations and individuals across the basin during its 2024 grant cycle. This year marked the water district’s 15th annual grant program, which uses tax revenue to support diverse water projects in the basin. Grant funds will be used for projects that improve irrigation water management and efficiency, restore degraded stream channels and aquatic habitat, support engineering and design and carry out basin water education. The district received requests for more than $315,000. All applicants were required to provide a 50% cost match…
The 16 projects funded this year include maintenance on the boardwalk bog bridge along the Rec Path in Crested Butte, as well as the installation of educational signage about the wetlands in the area. The district gave $25,000 to support the ongoing harmful algal bloom study at Blue Mesa Reservoir with the U.S. Geological Survey. Two Western Colorado University students will work with the National Park Service to explore the effects of toxic algal blooms on the foraging patterns of kokanee salmon. An Arch Ditch automation project will allow the diversion to fully operate remotely. This is the first one of its kind in the Gunnison Basin. The upgrade will reduce the labor needed to manage the diversion and conserve water. In Gunnison, $50,000 will help address irrigation issues at the Dos Rios Golf Club and reduce water use. The existing system is 40 years old, and uses roughly 65 million gallons of water per year. With the new system, the managers expect to cut water use almost in half.