Instead of submerging the existing trees under Gross Reservoir, crews would remove all trees and their debris within the boundary of the enlarged reservoir. It’s important to remove the trees to avoid floating debris, which could damage intake valves and hydroelectric facilities, and pose a hazard to boaters and downstream facilities. Also, decaying vegetation could cause water quality problems.
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When would tree removal occur?
It should take between six and eight months to remove the trees. Tree removal would begin at the start of the project’s construction phase, likely in 2013.
Temporary and unannounced closures at Gross Reservoir may occur during this process for safety reasons.
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What are the tree removal options?
Most of the trees in the area are ponderosa pine and Douglas fir. The steep slopes, limited shoreline access and large rock outcrops make it difficult to remove trees around Gross Reservoir.
Therefore, a combination of removal operations likely would be used to remove trees for proper disposal.
- Ground-based systems would be used in areas with existing roads or temporary construction roads.
- Helicopter yarding would be used in areas without road access. Helicopter yarding is a technique in which helicopters carry logs to areas where trucks can load the wood and haul it away.
- Hydro-axing would be used in areas with poor access, steep slopes, small trees and heavy rock, such as the top of Forsythe Canyon. A hydro-ax is a piece of equipment that can maneuver around rocky areas to cut down trees.
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What are the use and disposal options?
Denver Water understands that trees are an important asset to Gross Reservoir and will make every effort to dispose of the trees responsibly. It is exploring recycling opportunities and will work with the U.S. Forest Service before removing timber from U.S. Forest Service land.
Denver Water does not plan to use a traditional slashpile-and-burn method because of air quality concerns and regulations. Instead, trees would be disposed by:
- selling merchantable timber for small wood products;
- allowing people to gather firewood from central locations;
- burning with an air curtain destructor;
- grinding whole trees and hauling the debris to a landfill; and
- loading timber and hauling to a landfill.