What is the Eagle River Community Water Plan?
- eagleriverfund
- Oct 18, 2024
- 2 min read
View the Plan
Click here to visit the interactive plan website, download a PDF of the plan or view the technical appendices.
View the Executive Summary
What is a water plan?
The Eagle River Coalition initiated the Eagle River Community Water Plan to develop proactive water management recommendations that anticipate changes to local hydrology and water demand.
The primary Eagle River Community Water Plan goal is:
To consider past, present and future human and ecosystem river health values to identify opportunities to correct historical degradation and prevent and mitigate against undesirable future conditions.
Additional goals of the water plan include:
Completing an assessment of ecosystem condition, future flow needs and recreational use preferences.
Agreeing upon planning goals to meet environmental and recreational gaps at a reach level.
Identifying and implementing projects and processes that may help meet the diversity of use needs present in the basin.
Implementing a community engagement plan to raise community understanding surrounding river health.
It is intended as a guide to help current and future leaders make conservative, low-regrets decisions that provide water security to our communities while sustaining the productive, healthy, and beautiful river ecosystems that provide local communities with a critical natural resource, provide a recreational amenity to residents and visitors, add to the beauty of local viewscapes, and support vibrant local economies.
Why is it Needed?
The Eagle River Community Water Plan process was initiated to develop proactive water management recommendations that anticipate changes to local hydrology and water demand.
Some concerns in the Eagle River Watershed that are addressed in the plan include:
Population growth and increasing municipal demand for water in Eagle County
Impacts of climate change
Projects related to the Eagle River MOU, an intergovernmental agreement for developing municipal water supplies in the upper Eagle River Watershed
What do we know about rivers and streams in the Eagle River Watershed?
There is an extensive history of planning, data collection and analysis in the watershed. Published work includes (but is not limited to):
USGS research publications about aquatic life, water quality and streamflow
Eagle River Inventory and Assessment
Eagle River Watershed Plan
Gore Creek Water Quality Improvement Plan
Gore Creek Strategic Action Plan
Brush Creek Management Plan