Ridgway declares local disaster after Beaver Creek diversion failure that halted ditch flows

Ridgway’s Town Council on Aug. 14 approved an emergency declaration after a severe rain event altered Beaver Creek above the town’s diversion and filled the Ridgway Ditch with mud, rocks and gravel, cutting off the town’s primary water diversion.

Town Manager Preston Neill told the council that staff discovered the damage during a routine inspection following the weekend storm and that the creek’s channel was significantly modified. Neill said the grizzly diversion trough and much of the Ridgway Ditch were "filled with mud, rocks and gravel" and that a suspended pipe carrying spring flows to the ditch was found in pieces. He said the creek was undercut, at a lower elevation than before, and that trees now have exposed root systems along unstable banks.

"Restoring the diversion for long-term performance will be a very difficult and expensive task," Neill said, adding that a long-term fix will have to account for extreme weather and larger sediment loads. He warned that there is no water currently being diverted to the Ridgway Ditch to refill Lake Otonowanda, the town’s storage area, and said the town is relying only on the Happy Hollow drainage source. "Conservatively speaking one hundred days," Neill said when asked how long the town’s stored water might last absent diversion inflows.

Neill said town staff are coordinating damage assessment and recovery planning with Ouray County Emergency Manager Glen Boyd and Bobbie Lucero, Regional Field Manager for the West Area of the Colorado Office of Emergency Management. Boyd requested that residents report private property damage through the county’s online survey to assist damage documentation.

Acting under the Colorado Disaster Emergency Act, the council voted to ratify Neill’s emergency declaration (motion by Councilmember Lakin; second by Councilor Kroger). The declaration extends emergency authority to pursue damage assessment, seek state assistance and begin recovery planning while staff and regional partners evaluate options for restoration and potential redesign of the diversion system.

The manager and emergency staff said next steps include a formal damage assessment, documentation for potential state or federal assistance, and engineering analysis to identify interim and long-term repair options. Neill emphasized the scale of the sediment and channel changes and that any reconstruction will need measures to handle increased gravel loads and extreme runoff events.

The council did not set a timeline for repairs during the meeting; officials said they will continue assessments with county and state partners and report back to the council as options and costs are clarified.