USA: Colorado: Big Thompson Stream Restoration Project

Overview

After experiencing devastating floods in northern Colorado in 2013, the Front Range
watersheds were in desperate need of repair. To help restore the Big Thompson River
and prepare for future flooding events, the Big Thompson Watershed Coalition hired
Stantec to perform stream restoration design and implementation.

Stantec worked on the assessment and design documents to guide rehabilitation and
resilience efforts for the Big Thompson River, its floodplain, and its riparian corridor
including the Lower Canyon (Cedar Cove and Jasper Lake reaches) and West Loveland
(Riverview to Morey). The goal was to promote long-term resiliency and create a design
that incorporates stakeholder input while also developing a restoration plan that could be
successfully implemented.

To meet this project’s goals, Stantec’s design reset the ecological trajectory of the river
reaches based on historical context and contemporary boundary conditions and was
designed to handle the hydrological demands of the future. The design process involved
a diverse group of stakeholders, including private land owners that were concerned
about their property’s riverfront. The resulting design used the existing river’s location,
including its physical and biological characteristics to enhance riparian function and
prepare this watershed for future flooding events.