Sediment removal project begins at Garden of the Gods

The north end of Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs will be busy — and loud — as dump trucks haul away 150 loads of sediment deposited after flooding from Camp Creek last fall.

Six workers will spend the next three to four weeks on the job, said Corey Farkas, manager of the city’s Streets Division.

“Typically, we would have had to haul it all the way down to a landfill in Fountain and pay to get rid of it,” he said. “But we’ve actually had the opportunity to partner with the Flying W Ranch and we’ve got a short haul route just around the corner. They had a need for the material and we’re able to get rid of it for free.”

Farkas said he believes the ranch, which was virtually destroyed in the Waldo Canyon wildfire two years ago, will use the sediment as the base for a new parking lot as the ranch tries to rebuild.

Farkas said he hopes workers can remove most, if not all, of the material before spring rains possibly bring more flooding and deposit more sediment.

After the sediment is removed, Farkas said, the city will build two retention ponds in the area to trap sediment and prevent it from causing damage downstream. The Streets Division will regularly clean the ponds of sediment.

The cleanup site surprised Ana Price, who came to the park for exercise Friday.

“I’m glad the city had emergency funds for this,” she said. “It’s the kind of mess that would have deterred tourists and even locals like me from coming here.”

A combination of federal, state and local money is financing the projects.