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Pueblo Levee Dredging & Maintenance Project

Pueblo Colorado

May contain: vegetation, plant, grass, rock, land, outdoors, nature, landscape, scenery, wilderness, tree, and woodland
May contain: path, walking, person, grass, plant, trail, outdoors, nature, rock, soil, vegetation, land, wilderness, water, scenery, and canal
May contain: land, outdoors, nature, vegetation, plant, and water
May contain: vegetation, plant, wilderness, outdoors, nature, soil, land, tree, wood, grass, water, grove, and woodland
May contain: vegetation, plant, grass, rock, land, outdoors, nature, landscape, scenery, wilderness, tree, and woodland
May contain: path, walking, person, grass, plant, trail, outdoors, nature, rock, soil, vegetation, land, wilderness, water, scenery, and canal
May contain: land, outdoors, nature, vegetation, plant, and water
May contain: vegetation, plant, wilderness, outdoors, nature, soil, land, tree, wood, grass, water, grove, and woodland

Project Details

  • Project Channel Length: 8,700 feet
  • Total Project Cost: $5.2 Million
  • Completed: September 2017

Project Summary

The project extended from East 8th St. in Pueblo to the confluence with the Arkansas River, covering approximately 8,700 linear feet. The project was a joint effort between the Fountain Creek Watershed, Flood Control and Greenway District and the City of Pueblo. The accumulation of sediment in the creek and the heavy growth of vegetation along adjacent banks and flood control levee caused concern about the potential increase in flood risk for portions of southern Pueblo.

The primary purpose of this project was to comply with maintenance obligations related to the Fountain Creek levee system constructed by the United States Army Corp of Engineers in the 1980s, as well as to improve capacity within Fountain Creek. The project design consisted of lowering the creek bed approximately three (3) feet across the bankfull channel section and removing invasive species of vegetation, including Phragmites, Russian Olive, and Tamarisk, along most of the east bank and overbank, along the west bank, and on the west side of the USACE flood control levee. The project also included moving a sediment collector device from a previous pilot dredging project, and the removal of two bridge piers from an abandoned railroad crossing. Some dredged material was repurposed for other City projects: Approximately 45,000 cubic yards were hauled to Lake Minnequa Park site for use in completion of the Lake Minnequa Park Master Plan, and 10,000 cubic yards were taken to Plaza Verde site for grading purposes. The total sediment dredged and hauled offsite was approximately 127,000 cubic yards.