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Irrigation managers tell Forest Health Council wildfire-driven sediment and timing shifts threaten Poudre River supplies
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Summary
At an Oct. 3 legislative committee meeting, North Poudre Irrigation Company described how post‑fire sediment, mudslides and earlier snowmelt are reducing allocations and increasing costs to keep canals and treatment plants functioning, and urged better cross‑boundary permitting and planning.
Chair Larimer County Commissioner Joye Shea McNally convened the Colorado Forest Health Council Legislative Committee on Oct. 3, 2025, and the committee heard from Tad, general manager of North Poudre Irrigation Company, about how wildfire and forest health are affecting water quality and deliveries on the Poudre River.
Tad told the council that North Poudre operates 19 reservoirs and about 120 linear miles of canals, and that the company provides a critical takeoff point used by municipalities and farmers. "We are the first ones to see or catch any sediment, turbidity, floaters, anything like that coming down the river," he said. He described the company’s role supplying municipal shareholders including the city of Fort Collins and North Weld Water District and said the company delivers tens of thousands of acre‑feet annually.
The presentation stressed two operational vulnerabilities. First, Tad said post‑fire sediment and mudslides fill canals and treatment infrastructure. After the High Park fire, he said, "it took us about seven years to clean our canals fully" and described running three excavators nonstop to remove roughly two feet of accumulated sediment in some reaches. That work, he said, increased costs and strained shareholder finances because North Poudre is a mutual ditch company that passes costs to farmers and other water users.
Second, Tad emphasized snowpack timing. "Historically... North Poudre had... 5 acre‑feet per share," he said. "This year... we did have to do a 3 and a half allocation." He explained that earlier and faster spring runoff reduces the system’s ability to capture water, forcing releases downstream and complicating legal water obligations, including pressures tied to interstate compact and downstream usage.
Committee members asked about permitting and disposal of dredged material. Tad said permitting processes and private easements constrain where spoil can be placed; when landowners object the company sometimes must truck and stage material offsite. He described experimenting with CSU on biochar tests using dredged soils but stressed that moving large volumes remains expensive.
Members and the presenter also discussed tree and invasive‑plant management along canal rights‑of‑way as part of fire mitigation. Tad said ditch companies have authority to remove vegetation in rights‑of‑way but that work often requires sensitive negotiations with homeowners, and that invasive species such as Russian olive are resilient and costly to eradicate.
The committee recorded no formal policy votes on the irrigation presentation. The meeting had earlier approved Sept. 19 minutes by voice vote.
What’s next: Tad agreed to follow up with committee members by email on outstanding questions. Council staff and members flagged continued coordination needs where ditch operations cross federal, state and private lands.
