Moffat Collection System Project: Corps Denver hearing recap
December 4, 2009
The Fraser River of the 21st century is much different from the river that former President Eisenhower used to fish back in the day. Low flows due to transmountain diversions have diminished the fishery there.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers held a hearing last night in Denver for Denver Water’s Moffat Collection System Project which would divert additional water from the Fraser watershed. Residents, planners and politicians (many from Grand County) showed up to be heard. A majority of the speakers asked for the comment period to be extended 45 days.
Speakers for the most part voiced opposition to the proposed Denver Water expansion of Gross Reservoir and the increased diversions to fill the new space. The hope is to raise the dam 125 feet or so to get another 18,000 acre-feet of firm yield on the north side of their service area. They also hope to build a new reservoir on Leyden Creek.
“It breaks my heart to see a natural environment disappear while the east slope creates an environment that belongs east of the Mississippi River,” said Grand County resident Kirk Klanke during the hearing.
He also voiced support for an extension of the comment period. The EIS is a couple of thousand pages and many of the speakers said that they’ve not had enough time to probe the proposed workings.
Canton O’Donnell wants the Corps to evaluate the Moffat project in conjunction with the proposed Windy Gap Firming Project. Windy Gap is the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District’s plan to increase municipal supply for the Front Range using the Colorado-Big Thompson project to transport water stored downstream of Granby Reservoir. One speaker asked the Corps to hold off on issuing permits for either the Windy Gap Firming Project or the Moffat Collection System Project until Denver Water and the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District come up with their plan to coordinate the two projects to minimize impacts to the headwaters area.
“If your house is on fire and you have two bedrooms you’d want the fire department to take care of both,” said 4th generation Grand County rancher and county commissioner Gary Bumgarner in support of consolidating the environmental impact statements for both projects.
“This is a very bad project for many reasons,” said Grand Lake Mayor, Judy Burke, while reminding the Corps that pumping warmer water upstream to Grand Lake is causing algae blooms in the lake.
The Colorado-Big Thompson project moves water from Granby Reservoir, through Shadow Mountain Reservoir and into Grand Lake for transport under the Continental Divide through the Adams Tunnel. The Windy Gap Firming Project would increase the volume of water pumped up to the Adams tunnel so presumably the lake clarity problem will increase along with lowered water quality.
Whitewater enthusiasts oppose the drowning of the reach of South Boulder Creek just above Gross Reservoir. One commenter called it a, “Premier whitewater run.”
Interested parties have one more chance to speak publicly on the project next week in Keystone. Here’s the release from Denver Water with details about the hearings.
More Moffat Collection System Project coverage here.
Denver Water: Moffat Collection System Project may benefit streamflows in South Boulder Creek
December 3, 2009
From The Denver Post (Charlie Meyers):
The South Boulder Creek situation involves a similar difficulty to maintain flows below the reservoir during those cold months when water generation is diminished and fish mortality occurs. Again, flow control by Denver Water is at the heart of the issue. The water provider currently agrees to maintain flows at seven cubic feet per second — provided this small watershed can produce even that minuscule amount. Help may be on the way in a Denver Water plan to boost West Slope diversion through the Moffat Tunnel, boosting storage in Gross Reservoir. A companion arrangement would allow the water suppliers for the cities of Boulder and Lafayette to utilize storage in the reservoir.
The potential to use this to enhance winter flows has caught the attention of Trout Unlimited, which long has sought a solution to the South Boulder Creek puzzle. “If we can use this increased storage to boost flows in the creek,” this would be something we could support,” said Drew Peternell, director of TU’s Western Water Project. But Peternell’s concern also extends to a larger matter, which is a Denver Water push to acquire more water from the upper Fraser River basin, then deliver it through the Continental Divide via its Moffat Tunnel complex.
More Moffat Collection System Project coverage here.
Here’s an editorial call to arms from the Sky-Hi Daily News asking residents on the rainy side of Colorado to help stop the proposed project from Denver Water. From the piece:
So, we’d like to suggest a resounding “no” from this side of the Continental Divide, as in “no” to more transmountain diversions from the already-depleted Upper Colorado River. Surely that will elicit gasps from the other side of the hill in particular, as it would likely entail deviation from more than a century of Colorado water law. Then again, perhaps it’s high time for the sake of the greater state we did deviate from certain anachronistic practices, transbasin diversions being a prime example.
No one can honestly argue that in 1890, when the Grand Ditch first deprived the Colorado River of its very headwaters, that anyone was, in a legal sense, adequately representing the interests of the West Slope, much less interests that prevail today. Ditto when the Colorado-Big Thompson Project, which was supposed to help Front Range irrigators, not municipalities, began sending water to Northern Colorado. As for Denver Water’s catch-all canal in the Fraser River drainage and pipeline through the Moffat Tunnel, it is nothing short of an environmental tragedy on this side of the Divide.
Conditional water rights, such as those proposed for “firming” in Denver Water’s Moffat Project and Northern’s Windy Gap Firming Project, are particularly suspect in light of current realities in the Colorado River drainage. More than 60 percent of the native flows in this region already have been sent packing to the other side of the Continental Divide. As if that weren’t sufficiently disturbing, projects on the board would raise that ante to 72 percent of the Fraser River. Moreover, both these projects anticipate diverting water to the Front Range for storage in reservoirs there, thus depriving the West Slope not only of its natural heritage, but also of any chance to benefit from flat-water recreation that could be developed…
At the very least, Denver Water should be forced to mitigate the impacts of any further diversions from the Fraser Valley, where a seriously depleted river already represents the ultimate limit to development, and a once-world class fishery teeters on the brink. In addition, Denver’s project and the Windy Gap Project are being considered as though they are in a vacuum, which of course they are not. If the interests of this region are to be represented once and for all, these projects must be considered in concert, just as their impacts will be felt in concert from Lake Granby to the Utah border.
More Moffat Collection System Project coverage here.
Denver Water: Public hearing in Summit County for proposed Moffat Collection System Project
November 28, 2009
Update:
Here’s the release from Denver Water. There are four meetings starting Tuesday in Boulder:
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will hold four Public Hearings on the Draft EIS. At each location, Denver Water will hold an Open House from 4 to 6 p.m. The Public Hearings begin at 6 p.m.:
Tues., Dec. 1 — Boulder Country Club, 7350 Clubhouse Road, Boulder, CO 80301
Wed., Dec. 2 — Inn at Silver Creek, 62927 U.S. Highway 40, Granby, CO 80446
Thurs., Dec. 3 — Doubletree Hotel, 3203 Quebec Street, Denver, CO 80207
Tues., Dec. 8 — Keystone Conference Center, 0633 Tennis Club Road, Keystone, CO 80435
From the Summit Daily News (Bob Berwyn):
As described in a draft environmental study, the Moffat Collection System project in Grand County would also have impacts on flows on the Blue River. Flows in the Blue River at its confluence with the Colorado River could be cut by as much as 4,800 acre feet annually, about 2 percent of the river’s flow, according to figures released by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the draft study. Denver Water project manager Travis Bray said those figures apply when at full build-out of Denver Water’s existing system, and with the Moffat Tunnel on-line. Under the new configuration of diversions that would result from the Moffat Tunnel project, Denver Water would take between 4,000 and 5,000 acre feet of additional water from Dillon Reservoir each year. Bray said the draft study shows there would only be a negligible long-term impact to boating and no impact to fisheries in the Blue River…
Although 2 percent doesn’t sound like much, peak flows are important for the river’s ecosystem, said Becky Long, water caucus organizer with the Colorado Environmental Coalition. “If the project goes forward, the Blue River would see reduced flows in the summer months during wet and average years,” she said. The peak flows in wet years help flush sediment out of the river, create new habitat and support rafting and kayaking, she said.
The main focus of the project is on increased diversions from the Fraser River, but conservation groups are concerned about overall effects on the entire Upper Colorado ecosystem. They advocated for the Summit County hearing when the draft study was released a few weeks ago. Long said the Corps was responding to requests from Summit County residents by scheduling the local hearing…
Conservation groups have identified several broad environmental goals that should be included in the project’s mitigation plan, including:
— Adequate baseline flows in the Fraser throughout the year to sustain fisheries and recreation.
— Sustained peak flows at key times of the year to mimic a natural flow regime and ensure the health and resilience of the river.
— Aggressive urban water conservation and efficiency measures to save more water, such as incentives for homeowners to replace Kentucky bluegrass with drought-tolerant landscaping. More than half of residential water use goes to watering lawns.
— Ongoing monitoring of the river’s health and a mitigation plan with the flexibility to adapt to changing conditions…
A summary of the draft environmental impact statement is online at: https://www.nwo.usace.army.mil/html/od-tl/eis/moffat.deis.vol1.exec-summary.pdf (pdf)
Here’s the public meeting information:
What: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers hearing
When: December 8 —Open House: 4 p.m.; public hearing begins at 6 p.m.
Where: Keystone Conference Center (0633 Tennis Club Road, Keystone)
More Denver Water coverage here.
From…[T]he Sky-Hi Daily News (Reid Armstrong):
the Town of Fraser has a little less than eight weeks to accomplish a laundry list of items required to absorb the district. Failing to meet this deadline could cost the town $100,000 said town manager Jeff Durbin…
Whereas the district’s employees are currently responsible for both the wastewater collections system and operations at the plant, all three employees will now be exclusively in charge of plant management and operations, Durbin said. The towns’ department of public works will dedicate an existing employee to deal with the wastewater collections system.
More infrastructure coverage here.
Public comment sought on Moffat Project
November 7, 2009
Here’s the release from Denver Water (Stacy Chesney):
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has released the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Denver Water’s Moffat Collection System Project, which proposes to enlarge Gross Reservoir north of Boulder.
Denver Water is proposing the project to help resolve three major water supply challenges it is facing:
1. the risk of a near-term water supply shortfall;
2. the risk of running out of water in the north end of its system during a single dry year;
3. and a serious imbalance in its water collection system, in which about 80 percent of the supply exists on the south side of the system.The project is part of Denver Water’s multi-pronged water strategy to increase supply and decrease demand by implementing an aggressive conservation plan, completing and expanding its recycled water distribution system and developing additional water supply.
“Our customers have done an excellent job of conserving water, and we have been completing our recycled water system,” said David Little, director of planning. “These strategies are helping extend our supplies into the future. It is imperative, however, that we develop additional supply to correct the imbalance in our system and secure water for our future. We believe the best solution is to produce new water supply by expanding an existing reservoir instead of building a new reservoir.”
The Moffat Collection System Project proposes raising Gross Dam by approximately 125 feet. Gross Reservoir is fed by tributaries of the Colorado River and South Boulder Creek, and feeds the north side of Denver Water’s system. If approved, the Moffat Project would produce 18,000 acre-feet of new supply — enough water for roughly 45,000 households annually.
“We have been working with interest groups and local agencies to develop plans to offset environmental impacts of the Moffat Project and to provide significant environmental enhancements for the communities affected by the project,” said Little. “Denver Water is committed to encouraging wise use of the water we serve and to using our facilities and resources to enhance the environment in the watersheds we use.”
Denver Water, Grand County, the cities of Boulder and Lafayette, environmental groups and others still are discussing the proposed environmental enhancements, which go far beyond what the Corps requires for mitigating impacts caused by the Moffat Collection System Project. These enhancements will benefit tributaries to the Colorado River in Grand County and South Boulder Creek in Boulder County, among other locations.
The enhancements offered by Denver Water include:
- up to 2,000 acre-feet of additional water for augmenting streamflow in Grand County;
- $2 million for improving water quality in Grand County;
- $2 million for stream modifications to improve aquatic habitat in Grand County; and
- a partnership with Boulder and Lafayette to provide 5,000 acre-feet of storage space in an enlarged Gross Reservoir to improve aquatic habitat in South Boulder Creek.Denver Water is encouraging public participation in the two federal regulatory processes occurring for the Moffat Collection System Project. The two processes are:
An amendment to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Gross Reservoir hydropower license<br.
An application for a Clean Water Act Section 404 permit with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
The Draft EIS and Draft FERC Hydropower License Amendment were published Friday, Oct. 30. Each document has a 90-day comment period ending Jan. 28, 2010.The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will hold three Public Hearings on the Draft EIS. At each location, Denver Water will hold an Open House from 4 to 6 p.m. The Public Hearings begin at 6 p.m.:
Tues., Dec. 1 — Boulder Country Club, 7350 Clubhouse Road, Boulder, CO 80301
Wed., Dec. 2 — Inn at Silver Creek, 62927 U.S. Highway 40, Granby, CO 80446
Thurs., Dec. 3 — Doubletree Hotel, 3203 Quebec Street, Denver, CO 80207See more information on how to comment on the Draft EIS and Draft FERC Amendment.
More Moffat Collection System Project coverage here.
Conservation organizations warn against Denver Water’s Moffat Collection System Project’s ecological effects on the Fraser River and Upper Colorado River
November 1, 2009
Here’s a release from Colorado Trout Unlimited:
Trout Unlimited, the Colorado Environmental Coalition and a broad group of conservation organizations warned today that a proposal to divert more water from a tributary of the upper Colorado River poses a serious risk to the ecological health of the river system.
“Multiple water diversions have pushed the Fraser River to the brink of collapse,” said Kirk Klancke, President of the Colorado Headwaters Chapter of TU, based in Grand County. “This is a river on life support.”
At present, Denver Water’s Moffat Tunnel and other diversions take about 60 percent of the Fraser’s stream flow. The Moffat pipeline carries most of it under the Continental Divide to supply water for the Denver metro area. Under a proposed expansion of the Moffat tunnel pipeline, Denver would take even more of the river’s native flows.
In 2005, the Fraser was listed as one of the most endangered rivers in America by American Rivers, a national conservation group.
The statement from TU and the Colorado Environmental Coalition came in response to the Friday release of the draft environmental impact statement for the Moffat Tunnel proposal—the first step in a public review of the project by the Army Corps of Engineers.
“We are looking forward to digging deeper into the DEIS, and are hopeful that we can have a substantive conversation with Denver Water in the coming months about how we can ensure our resources are protected,” said Becky Long of Colorado Environmental Coalition.
Looking ahead, the conservation groups identified several broad environmental goals that should be included in the project’s mitigation plan, including:
–Adequate baseline flows in the Fraser throughout the year to sustain fisheries and recreation.
–Sustained peak flows at key times of the year to mimic a natural flow regime and ensure the health and resilience of the river ecosystem.
–Aggressive urban water conservation and efficiency measures to save more water, such as incentives for homeowners to replace Kentucky bluegrass with drought-tolerant landscaping. More than half of residential water use goes to watering lawns.
–Ongoing monitoring of the river’s health and a mitigation plan with the flexibility to adapt to changing conditions.
“We have already met with Denver Water’s staff, and they seem open to discussing some of these concepts,” said Mely Whiting, Legal Counsel for TU’s Colorado Water Project. “We hope the Denver Water Board seizes this opportunity to create a legacy, where water development and environmental protections can go hand in hand.”
“Front Range residents must recognize the connection between our water use and the health of our rivers and streams, fisheries and wildlife habitat,” said David Nickum, executive director of Colorado Trout Unlimited. “We can’t continue to take and take from these rivers without accounting for our impacts. The glass is not even half full—it’s almost drained dry.”
Contact:
Mely Whiting, (720) 470-4758
David Nickum, (303) 440-2937, x 101
Kirk Klancke, (970) 531-2199
Becky Long, (303) 405-6714
More coverage from the Sky-Hi Daily News (Tonya Bina):
…the public is invited to comment on the project starting Friday, Oct. 30, when The Denver Water Moffat Collection System Project Draft Environmental Impact Statement is planned to be released. Similar to the recent process of the Windy Gap Firming Project, the public will be able to comment on the Moffat document for 90 days, until Jan. 28, 2010.
In essence, Denver Water has identified a shortfall in supply beginning in 2016. According to its statements, Denver Water plans to address about 16,000 acre-feet through “additional conservation,” leaving Denver Water with a remaining annual shortage of 18,000 acre-feet. Denver Water maintains that unless it expands one of its existing reservoirs — particularly the one near Golden, which sits 340 feet above the South Boulder Creek streambed — it may be forced to shut down one of its three treatment plants in the future and would not meet the water demands of Arvada, Wesminster, and the water company that services Lakewood, Wheat Ridge and eastern Jefferson County, among others.
But securing more of its prior-claimed water means additional water would be carried from the Fraser River basin and Williams Fork River basin in Grand County through the Moffat Tunnel…
The Moffat water project became a catalyst for various West Slope water users — including river districts, water districts, counties and irrigators — to start serious water negotiations with Denver Water, to “settle a number of outstanding issues with Denver,” Underbrink Curran said…
Public meetings on the draft environmental impact statement are set for 4 p.m. (open house) and 6 p.m. (public comments) on Dec. 1, Dec. 2 and Dec. 3 in Grand County, Denver and Boulder to allow interested parties to ask questions and make a comment. The meetings will end when all participants have had the chance to make their comments. Of the five alternatives listed in the draft environmental impact statement, Denver Water prefers the Moffat Collection System Project, the alternative that details enlarging the existing Gross Reservoir by 72,000 acre-feet.
More Denver Water Moffat Collection System Project coverage here.
Denver Water: Moffat Collection System and the proposed expansion of Gross Reservoir
August 16, 2009
Say hello to the shiny new Denver Water website. I’m most excited about the RSS feed for their news page. You Coyote Gulch readers know I crave Colorado water news. 
At any rate check out the new part of the website for the expansion Gross Reservoir, part of Denver Water’s Moffat Collection System. They write:
If approved, the project would produce 18,000 acre-feet of new supply by expanding an existing reservoir rather than building a new one. The current dam height would increase from 340 feet to approximately 465 feet. The proposed project would increase Gross Reservoir from its current storage capacity of 41,811 acre-feet to approximately 114,000 acre-feet – an increase of 72,000 acre-feet. (Denver Water has determined four acre-feet of storage are needed for every one acre-foot of supply.)
Because Gross Reservoir was originally designed to be this larger size, other facilities, such as the Moffat Tunnel and South Boulder Canal, do not need to be modified and no additional water rights are needed. The additional water would be carried through the existing Moffat Tunnel from the Fraser River basin and Williams Fork River basin in Grand County, as well as from South Boulder Creek basin. Streamflow in the Fraser and Williams Fork rivers and South Boulder Creek would only be decreased by this project during wet and average years during the runoff months.
Denver Water officials anticipate that the Corps of Engineers draft environmental impact statement for the project will be released in the next few weeks.
South Boulder Creek: Water for instream flow to be part of Gross Reservoir expansion?
August 11, 2009
Here’s a look at a proposal to add 5,000 acre-feet or so to Denver Water’s expansion of Gross Reservoir for instream flow in South Boulder Creek, from Clay Evans writing for the Boulder Daily Camera. From the article:
Denver Water authorities are pursuing permission to draw even more water from the Fraser River to nearly triple the storage in Gross Reservoir. While that will put a much bigger “straw” into the Fraser — and, of course, the Colorado — some are asking that the plan be slightly expanded to provide much-needed water for South Boulder Creek.
The cities of Boulder and Lafayette and Trout Unlimited, the national conservation organization with an office in Boulder, aren’t exactly thrilled with the idea of further allocating water from the Fraser. But if it’s going to happen, as most expect it will, they’d like to see 5,000 acre-feet of storage added to the proposed 72,000-acre-feet expansion and use it to ensure adequate winter flow in South Boulder Creek. “It’s a stream that needs help,” said Drew Peternell of Trout Unlimited.
The problem, as always, is how to pay for it all. The additional storage for South Boulder Creek would cost around $8 million. Lafayette, Boulder and Denver have said they’d help fill the pitcher, but not enough to top off the project, according to Denver Water.
More instream flow coverage here.
Here’s a release from Denver Water via YourHub.com:
This summer’s wet weather has many people shutting off their lawn sprinklers to take advantage of what Mother Nature is offering, and Denver Water couldn’t be happier. Customers are using less water this year compared to recent years, but that’s prompted some to ask what it means for the utility’s revenues.
In March 2009, Denver Water reduced its operating budget by 12 percent and adjusted its 2009 revenue expectations downward by 5 percent to respond to the downturn in the economy. However, due to the unusually wet weather, the utility anticipates an additional $16.4 million – or 8 percent – less revenue than expected for the year, which will be covered by reserves the utility maintains for seasonal variations.
“We aggressively encourage conservation and wise water use and plan our budget accordingly,” said Chips Barry, manager of Denver Water. “Our customers continue to do a great job using water efficiently, so we expected water usage to be down because of our conservation plan. However, we’ve had an unexpectedly wet summer, and as a result, actual water use through July is even lower – about 18 percent less than we anticipated compared to recent years. Our financial planning routinely factors in variables like Denver’s weather, so a single year of extra precipitation doesn’t force us to do anything out of the ordinary.”
Denver Water’s rates are based on mostly fixed costs for infrastructure and on operating expenses that don’t change if water use fluctuates. While it is too early to know what Denver Water’s rates will be for 2010, the utility says customers can expect rate increases over the next 10 years to upgrade, repair and maintain its 2,650 miles of pipe and aging infrastructure – some of which is more than 100 years old. The public agency is not funded by taxes, but instead is funded by water rates and new tap fees (also called system development charges).
“In the long-term, we are planning for customers to become more efficient and use less water in the future,” said Barry. “We live in a dry climate and are glad to see customers taking advantage of the rain and not watering. Ten years ago, we wouldn’t have seen this type of response in rainy weather. Conservation is critical to having a reliable water supply in the future.”
Denver Water proudly serves high-quality water and promotes its efficient use to 1.3 million people in the city of Denver and many surrounding suburbs. Established in 1918 as a nonpolitical municipal agency independent of city government, it is Colorado’s oldest and largest water utility.
More Denver Water coverage here.
Fraser: Riverstock celebration August 9
August 8, 2009
From the Sky-Hi Daily News:
Riverstock, in the 40-year anniversary of Woodstock, is a day of fish, peace and music in the beautiful Fraser Valley…
11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday August 9 at the Lions Club Fishing Ponds in Fraser.
Here’s a release from Colorado River Headwaters Chapter of Trout Unlimited and the East Grand Water Quality Board asking for financial sponsorships for stream temperature monitoring gear to gather data about the effects of transmountain diversions, via the Sky-Hi Daily News:
Shallower streams heat up to higher temperatures. Grand County streams are all cold water fisheries that can easily be damaged by higher stream temperatures. Three years ago, Grand County Water Information Network (GCWIN), the Colorado River Headwaters Chapter of Trout Unlimited and the East Grand Water Quality Board received a grant to monitor the stream temperatures. We found that trout, which thrive at 55 degree, were experiencing temperatures warmer than 70 degrees. Temperatures this high are lethal to a cold water fishery.
This year we will continue to monitor Grand County’s stream temperatures but we need help to keep this important program alive. The equipment purchased from our original grant needs replacing. Since this is a local issue, we are hoping to get help from local residents to keep this program alive.
The equipment that we need to replace are the continuous temperature sensors placed in 28 locations from Berthoud Pass to the Gore Canyon. These sensors are called TidbiTs. We are asking people to sponsor their own TidbiT in a stream section that has significance to them.
The cost of sponsoring a TidbiT is $120. We encourage individuals, businesses, organizations or groups of friends to pool their resources and sponsor a TidbiT. To date, the information from this stream temperature monitoring program has played a significant role in helping to establish new Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment stream temperature standards. Additionally, this information was used extensively in developing the Grand County Stream Flow Management Plan.
Our stream temperature data is also being used in the mitigation planning for the Windy Gap and Moffat Tunnel diversions. Knowledge is power, and monitoring our stream temperatures is giving us the knowledge that gives us the direction to help our rivers. Please help us help the rivers.
For more information on the Sponsor a TidbiT program, please contact Jane Tollett of GCWIN at (970) 627-8162 or jtollett_gcwin@qwestoffice.net.
