The trail along South Fooses Creek in Salida. Courtesy of Flickr
This month a long-planned removal of the 218-foot earth and rock-fill hydroelectric dam at Fooses Reservoir near Salida will begin. Xcel Energy, which owns the dam known as Salida Unit No. 1, made the announcement on Wednesday.
“Xcel Energy is decommissioning their dam and reconstructing the stream to a natural state because it is no longer necessary for power generation, and due to the costs of upkeep,” said Salida District Ranger Perry Edwards in a statement. “I want to remind people that there are new pond fishing opportunities at Monarch Park Campground lakes which were dredged last year and stocked with fish by Colorado Parks and Wildlife. A new accessible fishing pier has also been installed there.”
The dam is located in the Pike-San Isabel National Forests. The project will restore approximately 765 feet of Fooses Creek, including revegetation and fish habitat. Construction work will also remove the 4,806-foot gravity flow pipeline and the majority of the 8,080-foot penstock line from the dam to the powerhouse. Disturbed areas associated with pipeline removal will be revegetated with native plant species.
Xcel Energy has worked with Chaffee County to plan the removal and with Colorado Parks and Wildlife to ensure that fish are handled responsibly during the water removal process. They have arranged for a biologist to relocate fish from the reservoir. The relocation will involve trap netting and electrofishing, then transferring them downstream to ensure they survive.
The removal project is expected to take several months, with estimates of complete removal by December 2024.
According to an Xcel news release, construction will involve some access restrictions. Access to Forest Service Road 225 past Fooses Reservoir will be limited to foot and bicycle traffic only with occasional closures. A pedestrian access path will be available for public use.
There will be increased traffic entering and exiting CR 225 and U.S. 50 during construction. Any closures will be communicated in advance by Xcel Energy to homeowners in the area. Traffic will be managed per Colorado Department of Transportation access requirements and per safe traffic control practices.
Public parking will be limited to approximately five vehicles at the closure point. The parking area will only have enough space for vehicles without trailers to turn around if needed. Signage will display the extent of available parking, and the closure will remain in place until construction is completed.