Preliminary river study findings shared at public meeting

Stantec introduces early stage plans for river

Editor’s note: This is the first in a series of stories about the findings of the Upper North Platte River Restoration Project.

The Upper North Platte River Restoration Project has many Saratoga citizens excited and concerned for its future impact on the town.

So how will it affect the Upper North Platte River and those who live near it?

The primary intention of the restoration project is to make the Upper North Platte River a self-sustaining river that will have minimal damage from flooding.

Project manager of the Upper Platte Valley River Restoration Nathan Jean said that the river may naturally fix itself, but there are no guarantees that the river won’t cause damage to property before that time.

“We can’t keep putting band-aids on the river,” Glen Leavengood of the Saratoga-Encampment, Rawlins Conservation District said.

The plan involves making the river deeper and expanding the flood plain using four levels.

Stage one is what is called an inner berm or a low flow channel. This naturally occurring feature is where most of the winter base flow and the low summer base flow exists. It is also where the fish habitat exists when temperatures increase. The Platte River currently has a flat inner berm plain, which doesn’t have the capacity to move sediment and decreases the velocity of the river.  

The second stage is called the active flood plain, the third stage is the low terrace, and the fourth stage is the terrace. Dr. Dave Rosgen of Wildland Hydrology said that these areas are high risk for flood areas, as most of the current structures in Saratoga are located upon the fourth stage.

Essentially, the four stages will reduce flood risk significantly by increasing the flood plain.

This plan will also reduce the width of the river by almost half of what it is currently, and make the river significantly more narrow and making the ideal riffle width 190 feet.

Glen Leavengood said that this may upset some who live near the river.

“It may not be something that everyone wants personally,” Leavengood said, “but it needs to be something we can all live with together.”

Stantec has another survey to complete in the spring of 2014 will follow up with a meeting after the survey is complete.