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Spanish Fork River Channel and Bank Habitat Improvements
Region: Central
ID: 3676
Project Status: Completed
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Project Details
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Need for Project
Like many rivers throughout Utah, the morphology of the Spanish Fork River has been shaped by the need to use water for irrigation and by the encroachment of urban spread and agricultural practices. As such, the river channel has been shaped through attempts to reduce the impacts of flooding and improve water conveyance to users. The effect has been the creation of a trapezoidal channel that, while maintaining some meanders, looks more like a canal than a river and is disconnected from its natural floodplain. The disconnection with the floodplain theoretically increases the magnitude of flood damage potential as flow energy cannot be dissipated. The brown trout fishery has remained viable in the river despite the changes made by human activities but does not flourish. The river is highly accessible as it flows through Spanish Fork City and the placement of up to ten j-hook and cross vanes throughout the one mile reach that flows through the Spanish Fork Sports Complex will aid in creating habitat that will benefit the fish population. These structures will aid in creating areas that are easily fishable from the shore along the trail. The Sports Complex hosts numerous sporting events for people coming from all over Utah but lacks the ability to provide much in the way of non-traditional sports. By enhancing the river through the park a section of the population that normally does not use this area can find other ways to recreate within the enhanced river habitat. Furthermore, using rock vane structures creates reconnection to the floodplain and will decrease the severity of flood damage by allowing the energy of the flowing water to be dissipated by the riparian vegetation. IN addition to the need for reconnecting the river to its floodplain, several species of invasive vegetation exist throughout the river corridor including Russian olive, tamarisk, and Siberian elm. These species are large water consumers and need to be removed and replaced by native vegetation that requires less water. Native vegetation can dissipate flood energy and provide the opportunity to keep a little more water in the stream channel throughout the remainder of the year through reduced water consumption. This in effect will also reduce the need of the city to maintain expensive trail infrastructure should flooding occur. Community stewardship for the river corridor is expected to increase with beautification of the stream channel and increased opportunities for recreation near homes
Provide evidence about the nature of the problem and the need to address it. Identify the significance of the problem using a variety of data sources. For example, if a habitat restoration project is being proposed to benefit greater sage-grouse, describe the existing plant community characteristics that limit habitat value for greater sage-grouse and identify the changes needed for habitat improvement.
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Objectives
The primary objective of this project is to increase engagement by volunteers throughout the Spanish Fork River Basin by coordinating community-based actions designed to complement and sustain our current restoration work. Key actions include reconnecting the river with the floodplain, diversifying fish habitat, planting native riparian trees, and removing invasive riparian species along the Spanish Fork River.
Provide an overall goal for the project and then provide clear, specific and measurable objectives (outcomes) to be accomplished by the proposed actions. If possible, tie to one or more of the public benefits UWRI is providing.
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Project Location/Timing Justification (Why Here? Why Now?)
Risks associated with completion of a bank and channel habitat restoration project are minimal to nil. However, the risks of allowing the Spanish Fork River to remain in it's current condition may allow excessive flooding damage in high water years and risk private property damage along the stretch of river running through the Spanish Fork Sports Complex. Furthermore, while Utah Lake does not have an EPA approved TMDL, studies show that there is 21.2 tons/year of phosphorous loading from the Spanish Fork River, the highest of any natural water source in Utah Lake. It also contributes over 60,000 tons of total dissolved solids, second only to the Provo River. Bank stabilization and floodplain reconnection are critical to reducing these water quality contaminants.
LOCATION: Justify the proposed location of this project over other areas, include publicly scrutinized planning/recovery documents that list this area as a priority, remote sensing modeling that show this area is a good candidate for restoration, wildlife migration information and other data that help justify this project's location.
TIMING: Justify why this project should be implemented at this time. For example, Is the project area at risk of crossing an ecological or other threshold wherein future restoration would become more difficult, cost prohibitive, or even impossible.
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Relation to Management Plans
A Consolidated Resource Management Plan has been completed for the portion of the Spanish Fork River from the crossing under Interstate 15 to the interface with Utah Lake. The CRMP outlines bank restoration and stabilization for the benefit of agricultural uses and the endangered June sucker. The objectives of Spanish Fork City are to ensure the stabilization of the banks of the Spanish Fork through their parks, which would include the portion through the Spanish Fork Sports Complex. In 2005 Utah Division of Wildlife Resources completed a streambank stabilization project much higher in the drainage at the Utah County Spanish Fork River Park. The UDWR project evidences positive effects to native species as well as trout.
List management plans where this project will address an objective or strategy in the plan. Describe how the project area overlaps the objective or strategy in the plan and the relevance of the project to the successful implementation of those plans. It is best to provide this information in a list format with the description immediately following the plan objective or strategy.
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Fire/Fuels
There are no effects on fire or fuels for this project.
If applicable, detail how the proposed project will significantly reduce the risk of fuel loading and/or continuity of hazardous fuels including the use of fire-wise species in re-seeding operations. Describe the value of any features being protected by reducing the risk of fire. Values may include; communities at risk, permanent infrastructure, municipal watersheds, campgrounds, critical wildlife habitat, etc. Include the size of the area where fuels are being reduced and the distance from the feature(s) at risk.
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Water Quality/Quantity
Floodplain reconnection and bank stabilization in the Spanish Fork River will reduce the current total phosphorous and total dissolved solids loading in Utah Lake preventing the possibility of a TMDL listing into the future. Current total phosphorous loading from the Spanish Fork River in Utah Lake is 21.2 tons/year, representing the highest phosphorous loading of any naturally flowing water source to the lake. Current total dissolved solid load is 60,500 tons/year, second only to the Provo River.
Describe how the project has the potential to improve water quality and/or increase water quantity, both over the short and long term. Address run-off, erosion, soil infiltration, and flooding, if applicable.
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Compliance
All appropriate Division of Water Quality and Army Corp of Engineers permits will be obtained prior to starting the project.
Description of efforts, both completed and planned, to bring the proposed action into compliance with any and all cultural resource, NEPA, ESA, etc. requirements. If compliance is not required enter "not applicable" and explain why not it is not required.
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Methods
Up to ten j-hook rock vanes will be placed throughout the one mile stretch of river that flows through the Spanish Fork Sports Complex to reconnect the channel with the flood plain and narrow the channel to the appropriate conveyance size for transport of sediment. Throughout the surrounding acreage in the park and the trail that runs adjacent to the river invasive plants will be removed. Willows, shrubs, grasses, and sedges will replace the non-native vegetation at a ration of at least 1:1.
Describe the actions, activities, tasks to be implemented as part of the proposed project; how these activities will be carried out, equipment to be used, when, and by whom.
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Monitoring
Monitoring of vegetation will occur annually to ensure the success of plantings and the recession of invasives. Monitoring of the fish population will occur annually for the first three years and then every 3-5 years following.
Describe plans to monitor for project success and achievement of stated objectives. Include details on type of monitoring (vegetation, wildlife, etc.), schedule, assignments and how the results of these monitoring efforts will be reported and/or uploaded to this project page. If needed, upload detailed plans in the "attachments" section.
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Partners
Trout Unlimited Utah Division of Wildlife Resources - Central Region Aquatics City of Spanish Fork
List any and all partners (agencies, organizations, NGO's, private landowners) that support the proposal and/or have been contacted and included in the planning and design of the proposed project. Describe efforts to gather input and include these agencies, landowners, permitees, sportsman groups, researchers, etc. that may be interested/affected by the proposed project. Partners do not have to provide funding or in-kind services to a project to be listed.
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Future Management
Monitoring of vegetation will occur annually to ensure the success of plantings and the recession of invasives. Monitoring of the fish population will occur annually for the first three years and then every 3-5 years following. Fishing and other recreation will be promoted on the Spanish Fork River by the City of Spanish Fork, Trout Unlimited, and the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources.
Detail future methods or techniques (including administrative actions) that will be implemented to help in accomplishing the stated objectives and to insure the long term success/stability of the proposed project. This may include: post-treatment grazing rest and/or management plans/changes, wildlife herd/species management plan changes, ranch plans, conservation easements or other permanent protection plans, resource management plans, forest plans, etc.
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Sustainable Uses of Natural Resources
This does not apply to this project but may apply to future phases.
Potential for the proposed action to improve quality or quantity of sustainable uses such as grazing, timber harvest, biomass utilization, recreation, etc. Grazing improvements may include actions to improve forage availability and/or distribution of livestock.
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