On Thursday, the Boulder County commissioners are having a public hearing about a proposed agreement between Boulder County and Denver Water about the Moffat Collection System Project. The county's lawyers have drafted a proposed Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) with Denver Water to address a few of the impacts if this extremely controversial water project is ever built.
The project would divert ever more water out of the Colorado River's tributaries in Grand County, pump that water through the Continental Divide west of Boulder, build a massively larger dam at Gross Reservoir just southwest of Boulder, flood a few hundred acres of Boulder County land, and then pipe that water eastward to fuel and subsidize sprawl in the Denver metro area.
Does that project sound like it reflects the values of Boulder County?
We believe that the Boulder County commissioners should reject this IGA, and instead fight this project.
First, this project proposes to drain another 18,000 acre feet of water per year out of the already severely depleted Upper Colorado River -- that's nearly six billion gallons. This diversion may impact federally listed endangered fish and trigger Endangered Species Act protections in the Colorado River, as well as negatively impact water users in Western Colorado. Further, the Colorado River Basin Study, released just last week by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, sounded the alarm bells on the Colorado River -- overpopulation, climate change, and severe drought are already taking an overwhelming toll on this river system.
Second, at a public meeting in Boulder on Dec. 5, the director of Denver Water was asked point-blank if his agency would sell water for fracking, but he evaded the question. Drilling and fracking is already occurring on the outskirts of Denver Water's service area, near Denver International Airport, and is being proposed near a few of the suburban cities that Denver Water supplies water to.
Third, Denver Water believes that it doesn't need to amend its federal hydropower license for the project with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. We disagree. The project would likely decimate the small streams in Grand County at the headwaters of the Colorado River, and would therefore severely impact native populations of cutthroat trout. These streams are located on public forest service land and if Denver Water is allowed to exclude the diversions from the hydropower license, the U.S. Forest Service's ability to protect public land and water would be severely undermined.
Fourth, the project would fuel and subsidize a continuation of the unsustainable population growth and suburban sprawl in the Denver metro area. As much as half of this water diverted out of the Colorado River will be used to keep suburban grass green for three months per year in our hot, dry summers. This diversion is a waste of a precious resource that would be put to a higher and better use in the Colorado River where it sustains local West Slope communities, the tourism economy, and fish and wildlife.
Finally, the project would build a massively larger dam at Gross Reservoir southwest of Boulder, flooding hundreds of acres of forest, riparian habitat, and beautiful landscape enjoyed by many Boulder County residents. Even worse, the construction of the dam would take years, resulting in intolerable impacts to nearby homeowners from dust, noise, lights, and endless truck traffic on the curvy and perilous mountain roads.
Alternatives to this project abound, and include significant new investments in water conservation and efficiency for Denver Water customers, better management of sprawl and population growth in the metro area, water recycling and reuse, and cooperative relationships with farmers in the region. Denver Water needs to step forward on these alternatives instead of trying to further drain Colorado's rivers.
To their credit, Boulder County's lawyers have negotiated a compromised agreement with Denver Water that siphons off millions of dollars from the project to buy and preserve land around an expanded Gross Reservoir and attempts to mitigate the impacts to nearby homeowners. So, if worse comes to worse and the project ever gets built, the county would have a backup plan that sucks money out of Denver Water in the same way that Denver Water is sucking more water out of Colorado River.
But are compromised agreements the right path forward for Boulder County? We say no.
Please fight this project and help protect Colorado's rivers.
Gary Wockner is the Program Director for Colorado Clean Water Action, a Denver-based national grassroots canvassing and advocacy organization that has over 4,000 members in Boulder County.