The Board of County Commissioners has gone on record opposing the analysis of a proposal to nearly triple the size of Gross Reservoir to benefit Denver Water.
In a March 17 letter to officials at the Denver Water Board, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Boulder County commissioners called the environmental and energy-related analyses of the Moffat Collection System Project “inadequate.”
“Consequently, Boulder County would oppose the issuance of any federal permits until such time as these deficiencies are rectified,” the letter states.
The commissioners were responding to a draft environmental impact statement and a draft FERC license amendment application associated with the Moffat Project, in which the expansion of Gross Reservoir is listed as the “preferred alternative.”
“Based on the data presented so far, it does not appear that the best available scientific, empirical and contemporary data supports the Preferred Alternative, the near tripling in size of Gross Reservoir,” the commissioners wrote. “The Preferred Alternative concentrates nearly all the negative impacts in Grand County and Boulder County — none of whose residents will benefit from the project as Denver Water customers.”
Further, the letter states, “Before authorizing the irreversible and irretrievable commitment of resources to a project that will further dewater the already decimated Colorado River headwaters, the Corps and FERC must mandate a more thorough and accurate analysis for public review and comment. This analysis must show why Denver Water cannot address its reliability, vulnerability, and flexibility needs by conserving more water within its service area on the Front Range.”
To read a full list of the commissioners’ concerns and the letter in its entirety, click here.
