River concerns raised

Concerns of bank erosion expressed to Saratoga council

With the highwater season all but a distant memory, flooding concerns may be the last thing on most people's minds.

At the September 21 meeting of the Saratoga Town Council, however, a request to do river work was heard by the governing body. Ralph and Ann Hicks, who own a home behind the Saratoga Hot Springs Resort, wrote a letter to the council which was read by Councilmember Ron Hutchins.

"We are lifelong summer residents of Saratoga and each year we are river watchers. This year has presented us with some serious problems in and with the river and it needs attention," wrote the Hicks. "In the 1950s and 60s, rock bars in the river were taken care of by local excavators. They would get in the river in the fall and move or remove stones as needed. Like everything else, the bureaucrats have changed that and it is to our detriment. The river that follows Condict Drive in back of the Saratoga Inn has developed very serious rock bars that require some expertise."

The letter went on to state a handful of properties next to the river were showing signs of bank erosion and, in some cases, with the river visible through exposed tree roots. The correspondence from the Hicks went on to request the Town of Saratoga contact the Army Corp of Engineers, along with any local organizations concerned about the river, to look at the section of the North Platte River before spring.

"Opening up the river and removing years and years of accumulated stone needs doing," the letter concluded. "Do not disregard this. What affects one affects all. Come see for yourselves and get the Corp here."

Councilmember Jon Nelson addressed the letter, stating removing sediment from the middle of the river is not always a solution to bank erosion. In 2017, the Town of Saratoga under Mayor Ed Glode approved the removal of several rock bars in the North Platte River between the Bridge Avenue and 1st Street bridges. Since then, however, it appears those rock bars have returned to the same level or worse than they were before.

Nelson added one such entity which might be interested in mitigating the rock bars and bank erosion around the Hicks' and others' properties was the Saratoga Encampment Rawlins Conservation District (SERCD). For the past several years, SERCD Director Joe Parsons has been working on obtaining grants to mitigate the potential hazards which could arise from a bank blowout at Boozer Creek south of Saratoga.

"The point is, it's a very complicated question that they're asking and just to throw it on the town council's lap and say 'This is something that needs to be addressed' .... I think it's a little misdirected and it's something that's really outside of our purview when it comes to dictating what the river does through private property," said Nelson.

Hutchins informed the council he would get in touch with Parsons and begin the process of figuring out who could address the issues raised by the Hicks.

The next meeting of the Saratoga Town Council will be at 6 p.m. on October 5 at Saratoga Town Hall.

 

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