Muller worked with the Colorado Water Conservation Board on a series of flood recovery projects resulting from the 2013 floods in the Big Thompson Canyon as part of the Emergency Watershed Protection (EWP) program involving design and construction of river improvements along four reaches of the Big Thompson River and one reach of the North Fork of the Big Thompson River. The primary goal of the program was to protect life and property for several private landowners bordering the river and the traveling public through implementation of grade control, bank protection, and riparian vegetative cover. The secondary goal of the program was to improve stream health and provide long-term stream resilience by incorporating natural channel design through appropriate bankfull geometry, riffle or step/pool sequences, and habitat structures.

Because this work was in the narrow and steep valley of the Big Thompson Canyon, all stabilization improvements are robust enough to withstand extreme hydraulic forces. At the same time, this canyon is known for its beauty and natural qualities, so all engineered improvements are nature-based and cater to the environmental functions the river provides within the corridor. Variations of boulder cascades and riffle structures along with bioengineered bank protection were carefully designed to meet these multiple objectives. Due to federal grant restrictions, this work was rolled out very quickly. Coordination was necessary with CDOT’s repairs along Highway 34, which were being designed and constructed at the same time. This project is an example of our team’s ability to move quickly, engage in extensive collaborations, and deliver a successful project.