Fish back in barren Basalt reservoir? Possibility could increase after summer
Colorado Parks and Wildlife proposes mitigating water seepage at Lake Christine Dam
The Aspen Times archives
When a small landslide in 2015 covered Two Rivers Road in Basalt, experts found it was caused by water seeping into the soil through the Lake Christine Dam.
After an investigation by the Colorado’s Dam Safety Office, lake water levels were reduced by 2.75-feet to prevent further seepage.
Because of that change, Colorado Parks and Wildlife has been unable to stock the reservoir with fish. The lake’s dock and pier structures have also been unusable due to being raised and set back from the new water level.
This summer, that could change.
CPW Dam Safety Engineer Jenna Svoboda updated Basalt Town Council last week with potential plans to stabilize the Lake Christine Dam. If approved, CPW hopes to begin construction on the dam in June, which means it will need to start hearing bids in April.
“The primary goal of this project is to stabilize the slope along Two Rivers Road and mitigate the potential for future sluffs or slides that could hinder traffic or cause harm to the community,” she said.
Construction will consist of decreasing the angle of the slope on the dam. Angles currently range from 2 feet of vertical rise for every 1 foot of horizontal distance, to 1 foot of vertical rise for every 1.3 feet of horizontal distance, according to Svoboda.
Engineers have proposed changing that slope to a consistent 1 foot of vertical rise for every 1.6 feet of horizontal distance, considerably shallowing the slope in places.
This will stabilize the slope to Colorado Department of Transportation standards while accounting for continuing seepage. The continued seepage will then be dealt with via roadside drainage.
“You can’t get rid of the (water seepage),” Basalt Town Manager Ryan Mahoney said. “You have to channel it and make sure it’s stable and so a project like this acknowledges the issue and then takes care of it in situ.”
CPW is hoping construction will be finished by mid-August. During construction, Two Rivers Road will be reduced from two-way traffic to alternating one-way.
After construction is finished, CPW looks to return Lake Christine to pre-2015 levels, meaning its structures will be usable again. Additionally, CPW may be able to resume stocking the lake with fish, so fishers could resume fishing the lake as soon as 2026.
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