Shared on behalf of the Hinsdale County Flood Mitigation Unified Coordination Group
Contact: Michael Davis, Public Information Officer, Unified Coordination Group
Phone: 970-648-4118
Contact: Micki Trost, Public Information Officer, Colorado State Emergency Operations Center
Email: micki.trost@state.co.us
Phone: 303-472-4087
Lake City, Colo. ‒ May 30, 2019 ‒ The Hinsdale County Board of County Commissioners signed an agreement on May 30, 2019 at 10:30 a.m. accepting Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) Emergency Watershed Protection (EWP) Program funding for costs associated with the removal of the Hidden Treasure Dam. The cost of removal of the dam, including demolition and technical assistance is estimated at nearly $1 million.
The expense of dam removal will be shared between Hinsdale County, State of Colorado, and NRCS. NRCS will cover 75 percent of the costs, the State of Colorado will pay 20 percent through the Disaster Emergency Fund allocated by Governor Polis’ emergency declaration and Hinsdale County will be responsible for the remaining five percent of costs. The county’s cost share percentage was established based on a financial assessment completed by the Colorado Department of Local Affairs.
Removal of the Hidden Treasure Dam began at 11 a.m. today. The debris from the dam will be placed in the flow path and will serve to reduce the velocity of the water moving through the area. Debris will be removed from the river bed during phase two of the project, in the fall, when water levels are at their lowest. This will allow the work to be done more safely and with less impact on recreational access to the area.
The EWP Program allows communities to quickly address serious and long-lasting damages to infrastructure and to the land. The EWP Program authorities offer NRCS the flexibility to act quickly to help local communities cope with adverse impacts resulting from natural disasters.
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