John Scarffe, Boulder County. Denver Water will have to go through Boulder County’s review process after a four-hour public hearing by the Boulder County Board of County Commissioners on March 14, 2019 at 4:30 p.m. in the Commissioners’ Hearing Room. The board considered Denver Water’s appeal of the land use director’s decision that the Gross Reservoir Expansion Project is not exempt from the county’s Areas and Activities of State Interest, according to House Bill 1041.

About 45 people spoke to the commission following presentations by Denver Water and Boulder Planning Staff Dale Case. This was a public hearing for the Board of County Commissioners to determine whether the Boulder County Land Use Director erred in his decision that the proposed Gross Reservoir Expansion Project is subject to local government review.

Denver Water is in the process of applying for a planned expansion of the Gross Reservoir Dam in southwest Boulder County. While this is not a Boulder County project, the reservoir resides entirely in unincorporated Boulder County. The Army Corps of Engineers and Denver Water are moving forward with expanding Gross Reservoir, and they will be channeling through the Moffat Tunnel and South Boulder Creek.

Expanding Gross Reservoir will help protect Denver Water customers from negative impacts of a future drought and shortfalls in the overall water storage system, according to the Denver Water website. “This project will increase Gross Reservoir’s capacity to 119,000 total acre feet by adding an additional 77,000 acre feet, and 72,000 acre feet will be for Denver Water use, while 5,000 acre feet will go to the environmental pool that provides additional water for South Boulder Creek during low flow periods and provides enhanced stream flow to a 17-mile stretch of South Boulder Creek located below the reservoir,” states the website.

Mike King, Denver Water manager, General Counsel Jessica Brody and Engineer Jeff Martin represented Denver Water at the hearing. Denver Water supplies water to 4.1 million customers and turned 100 years old last year, King said. Its history has been long and at times difficult.

“We come to you today with something unusual,” King said. The development of natural resources is the most contentious of issues, and water is the one from which the others flow. Colorado continues to grow, and Denver Water has to be able to service those folks, and they want to do it in an environmentally responsible manner.

King said that 80 percent of their water comes from the South Platte system. Gross Dam is important, because it provides redundancy. Denver Water has the support of towns on the western slope and Trout Unlimited. “We’re looking for opportunities to improve the environment and serve our customers,” King said.

Jeff Martin said Denver Water has two water sheds, South Platte and the Moffat collection, which is the small, north system, and Denver Water has an imbalance with only 20 percent and 10 percent storage on the north. The Hayman fire in 2002 was right at Denver Water’s south shed. The fire ran right outside of Bailey, and that clogged their system, so they know the risk is here and are trying to solve this with creating storage with the Gross Dam project.

Colorado is the seventh largest increasing population state in the country, Martin said. Another 5 million people are projected to live in Colorado by 2026. “When we look forward, we’re making sure we have the water where we need it,” Martin said. Denver Water’s area covers from Colorado Springs to the Wyoming border and needs 34,000 acre feet of water. Denver customers have been using 20 percent less water.

“Through our campaign we have been nationally recognized, ‘Use only what you need,’ and customers have responded,” Martin said. Denver Water is looking at a new supply on the north side specifically. In 2003, the Denver Water Board gave staff direction to go forward and make environmental stewardship its mission.

It took 14 years to develop the plan, because they had a lot of stakeholders at the table. Gross Reservoir is a 340-foot-dam, and it was designed for two raises, Martin said. South Boulder Creek has issues and can go low, although it’s a good fishery, so Denver Water will put water in the river when it needs it.

The full use of Gross Reservoir was the best option and will have no environmental impacts. “We are listening to what’s being provided and have changed through the process and made a lot of partners along the way.” Martin said.

The project has been recognized by the past five Colorado governors. Trout Unlimited gave Denver Water an award in 2017 for bettering the Fraser River by improving a mile of stream and creating riffle pools. Trout biomass increased four times, and now it’s getting a lot of fishing, and they have worked on South Boulder Creek near Gross Reservoir, Martin said.

Denver Water has also increased its public outreach with meetings at local coffee shops and at the Coal Creek Community Center and building a Yurt with Gross Dam information. “Our primary concern is safety and reducing disruption on Highway 72 and the Gross Dam road,” Martin said.

It was assumed Denver Water would truck sand, 20,000 loads, but Denver Water found a way to make sand out of rock and can reduce traffic by 75 percent. They also have made commitments with school districts to not travel when buses will be on the road and no trucking during the morning and evening commute.

Brody said she disagrees with Boulder County staff’s interpretation on House Bill 1041. It is exempted from the 1041 process because Denver Water owned that land already. This article shall not apply as of May 17, 1974, if the land has been zoned for the use contemplated.

At the time, the project was in a forestry district, which includes homes, schools, parks and lines. The Forest Service does not address dams. In addition to the forestry district, Gross is also in a flood plain.

In August 1969, Boulder County adopted flood regulations, after Gross Reservoir captured the entire flood at that time, Brody said. The flood plain was defined as the area that would be inundated during a possible flood as determined by the 100-year-flood zone.

Gross Dam protected the area during the 1969 and 2013 floods and can in the future. The underlying zoning did not prohibit dams, and Gross is currently mapped as a flood way, Brody said.

Dams are one of the items that have been permitted. The zoning code didn’t speak to reservoirs. The only logical reading of the code, your predecessors would permit storing water, Brody said.

Boulder County Land Use Director Dale Case and Kevin Doyle, flood plain administrator, presented the case for Boulder County. The area is zoned forestry and the county did not have a damn or reservoir as listed in that zone, so it gives the county a method for getting uses required for review.

In 1974, regulations state that the 100-year-flood plain is mapped and designated on the zoning maps. The flood plain does not go upstream to Gross Reservoir and starts at Eldorado Springs.

Boulder Creek was listed as a flood plain but not Left Hand Creek at that time. It did not include the areas by Gross Reservoir. “We would have to adopt any change as defined by the Corps of Engineers in 1974. It would have had to go through the special use approval and review process for the extent and scope of the project.” Case said.

During public comment, Grand County Interim Manager Ed Moyer and County Commissioners Richard Cimino and Merrit Linke said they understand Boulder County’s position and hopefully they can find resolution and advance the review of this process.

Linke from Granby said Grand County is not a big fan of large-scale projects designed to take water from the headwaters. Already, 300,000 acre feet of water are diverted every year, which causes devastation to the rivers.

Grand County’s first reaction was, “No way,” but the question of 1041 powers called into question whether this was the way to go. Giving an outright “no” opens up the possibility of litigation as opposed to the option to negotiate an outcome that offsets the impacts to the Fraser, Colorado and what you have here in Boulder County, Linke said.

The Colorado River Cooperative Agreement (CRCA) spells out mitigations, and they urge Boulder County to work for cooperation rather than absolute answers. Cimino said that under the CRCA adaptive measurement process, Denver Water agreed to wet water and storage managed by Grand County to help with low Fraser River flow issues and provided funding to improve the degraded conditions.

Northern Colorado Utilities and Grand County went into an agreement to protect wet water and adaptive management, Cimino said. Northern applied for the 1041 under protest. Grand County suggests considering the same approach and Denver Water will agree to the 1041 process, if necessary, under protest. “We understand how tempting it is to just say no, but that approach would lead to an all or nothing result.”

Gary Wockner, director of Save the Colorado, said their mission is to restore the Colorado River, and 1,000 members sent the board an email. They have been fighting this project for about 10 years and sent a long letter cosigned by the Colorado Chapter of the Sierra Club.

This project will imperil the green cutthroat trout. They have filed a lawsuit against the Army Corps of Engineers for the permit they issued last year.
Grand and Summit Counties are supporting the lawsuit, because the Blue River will see a 20 percent reduction in stream flow. Denver Water should have to go through the process to build the tallest dam in the state, Wockner said.

Many of the 45 Boulder County residents who addressed the board were members of TAG. Selena Collinson Twin Spruce Road, said she is the president of the TAG Board, and they have rallied quite a crowd here tonight. They agree with Boulder staff that Denver Water should not be able to pass through without the 1041 review process.

The tourist traffic is already ridiculous, and this project would make it 100 times worse. TAG has 15-year commitment to fighting the project and has expanded staff and efforts to raise more than $250,000 from Boulder County families, Collinson said.

TAG has been watching this process unfold and has seen Denver Water try to bypass local authorities. Denver Water doesn’t get grandfathered into this project, she said. Things have changed.

The Colorado River is drying up and they would fail if they had to go through this process. They should be afraid of failing because the 1041 process could stop this and is exactly what the 1041 process was made for. She then handed the board 400 postcards in support of the 1041 process, so their voices will get louder.

Jenny Curtis, Lake Shore Drive, said Tag conducted a professional poling in 2018, and residents’ opposition was a solid 68 percent of the project. Only 7 percent were strongly in favor and 39 totally opposed due to the threat to wildlife, woodlands and heavy metals seeping into the water. They are strongly concerned with the clear cutting of more than 2,000 trees and the truck traffic on these narrow mountain roads.

Dell Shannon, of Boulder, and a board member of the U.S. Society on Dams, an association related to design of and safety of dams, said he worked on the Pineberg Hills Dam in Boulder County, which was finished in 1976 to provide a safe and sanitary supply of water for Boulder County. Boulder County has a strong history of dams throughout the county. He also is the lead engineer for the Gross Dam project.

“Without dams and reservoirs our water system would not be possible. The underpinning of current society and lifestyle we enjoy would not be possible without them.

Creating additional water storage systems benefits everyone, Shannon said. “We must think of our children and additional water storage helps everyone in Colorado.”

Boulder County Commissioner Debra Gardner said after viewing the maps and documentation, the director’s decision should stand. Commissioner Matt Jones said that Article 8 of the Land Use Code requires public review, and it’s critical that local people have their input.

Board Chair Elisha Jones said they had another four-hour hearing this week. The board heard a lot of testimony tonight but has to agree with the land use administrator, Dale Case. Dams were not a permitted use, and it would have required special use review. That is what 1041 was put in for.

The board agreed and approved a motion to upheld Land Use Director Dale Case’s recommendation that the Gross Reservoir Expansion Project is not exempt from the county’s Areas and Activities of State Interest, according to House Bill 1041.

(Originally published in the March 21, 2019, print edition of The Mountain-Ear.)