Although it may be unsightly, the debris on the shore near Doc’s Marina in the McPhee Reservoir will not be removed soon, according to a U.S. Forest Service official.
Tires and scrap metal from a failed marina and breakwater have been exposed by low water levels. Stan Folsom said they have created operational hazards for his marina business.
Folsom said he has hired Case Construction throughout the season to help reposition his marina as the shoreline moved. He said he also needed the company’s help moving scrap metal that threatened to puncture one of the boats parked in the marina.
Tom Rice, the recreation staff officer for San Juan National Forest, said the Forest Service is responsible for the debris because it manages the McPhee reservoir property. However, he said, the cleanup cost is prohibitive.
“Because there appears to be hundreds of yards of cable and tires, at this point, Forest Service isn’t going to pull it out,” Rice told The Journal.
Rice said that the Forest Service might re-evaluate the decision if water levels remain low, but he expects the marina to refill before boating season next year.
Debris will not pollute drinking waterAccording to Rice, debris from the marina fire and old breakwater poses no risk to the potability of McPhee’s water.
The main risks associated with the debris are physical, similar to risks posed by boulders and rocks, which can damage watercraft if they become exposed by low water.
History of the marina locationThe tires and cable in the marina are the remains of a failed breakwater that broke down at least 14 years ago, after the previous marina near the McPhee boat ramp burned down. The Forest Service said it was not able to find the names of the previous owners, nor details of how or when the fire occurred.
In 2004, The Abonmarche Group, a Michigan-based consulting firm that specializes in marinas, delivered a report to the McPhee Recreation Plan Committee. The committee paid $90,000 for the report and received $29,000 in funding from the Department of Local Affairs and San Juan Public Lands Center.
The Abonmarche Group recommended that a marina be built in McPhee Reservoir but that it be maintained by public funds because of the poor prospect offered by private ownership of a marina in a remote location with a varying shoreline.
“Small reservoir marinas cannot be financed and operated for reasonable profit by the private sector,” the Abonmarche Group report reads.
Montezuma County created plans to put in a breakwater at the boat ramp near the main McPhee Reservoir boat ramp off Colorado Highway 184 west of Dolores.
The county paid Blue Water, a design firm from San Pedro, California, $9,000 to design the breakwater because the firm had previously done work at Lake Powell and Navajo Reservoir.
Blue Water drew up the plans and submitted them, then the county hired Circle Zebra fabricators of Mancos to build it.
After amending a flaw with the design, Blue Water finalized their designs, and Circle Zebra completed construction of the breakwater, which they left on the shore of McPhee reservoir near the McPhee boat ramp to be installed later.
“Once we get the breakwater in, then we can begin to look into a competitive bid on a special-use permit for marina services,” Rice told The Journal in April 2014.
In January 2015, Folsom expressed interest in opening a marina at McPhee Reservoir but wanted to install it at House Creek because the cove is protected from wind. The sheltered location would help to reduce maintenance costs.
Montezuma County commissioners were open to the idea of installation at House Creek, but environmental and archaeological studies and a public-comment period would have been necessary before that installation, a process that would have taken six to 24 months, according to Derek Padilla, ranger for the Dolores Ranger District.
In June 2015, Folsom won a bid for a marina to be installed off the main McPhee boat ramp, his current location, and installation was completed the following August.