Feds Release Study Of Utility's Plan For Denver

The federal government has released its final environmental impact study of a utility's ambitious plan to get more water to Denver, CO. 

Proposed by the city's largest water utility, Denver Water, the plan would "increase transmountain diversions from the Fraser River and store the water in an expanded Gross Reservoir, in Boulder County," Boulder Weekly reported. 

That amounts to a major infrastructure overhaul. 

"Denver Water proposes to enlarge its existing 41,811-acre foot (AF) Gross Reservoir by 77,000 AF (72,000 AF plus a 5,000 AF Environmental Pool) to a total storage capacity of 118,811 AF," the environmental impact study said. 

What the feds had to say: "Not developing new water diversions from the Colorado River Basin to the Front Range would increase the chances of a major Denver Water system failure, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers concluded," Summit County Citizens Voice reported. 

Jim Lochhead, Denver Water CEO and manager, welcomed the report from the government. “After being in a permitting process for more than ten years, we are pleased to see the release of the Final Environmental Impact Statement for Denver Water’s Moffat Collection System Project," he said. 

Denver Water says the plan "will guard against future shortages on the northern branch of its system and provide more operating flexibility, make the overall system more resilient to climate change and extreme weather events like floods and fires," according to Boulder Weekly. 

Various environmentalists have worked to stop the plan. 

"While Denver Water has reached agreement with some environmental stakeholders on a conceptual plan to mitigate impacts, other groups are still strongly opposed to the plan, claiming that Denver Water could achieve its objectives without new diversions with smarter water use policies, especially better conservation," Summit County Citizens Voice reported. 

For more oversight news, check out Water Online's Regulations and Legislation Solution Center. 

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