Barbara Lawlor, Nederland.  On Sunday afternoon, Mel and David Loar carried their canoe, their life jackets, their fishing gear, a cooler and their sunscreen to the South Shore Boat Launch, known as Osprey Point, on Gross Reservoir. They picked a perfect day of sunshine, no wind and a serene atmosphere of kids, adults, canoes, kayaks and SUP’s, Stand Up Paddle Boards, the millennial water craft of choice.

The Loars looked forward to an afternoon of throwing out their lines and drifting around the shore of the lake, checking the fish hangouts. Longtime Magnolia Road residents, the Loars have found the reservoir a sanctuary from the rest of the world. When asked what they thought of the Gross Reservoir expansion project, Mel said that water conservation should be the priority, that there were so many other options than changing the footprint of the reservoir forever.

“We should use eco-scapes for our homes, recycled water. Learn how to conserve water first before we go ahead with expansion, before we kill these beautiful trees.”

They waved to Ranger Rick, Richard Lewis, Recreation Manager for Denver Water at Gross Reservoir, who sat at a table under a tent greeting people as they unloaded their boats and boards and giving them advice as well as interacting with them about the rules and regulations of the res. He loves to assist people and is adamant about keeping them safe.

He says he has been on the job since 2003, year-round, and has seen a thing or two, but has never lost anyone due to a boat accident on his watch. People have died diving into the lake and drowned, or have been swept into the reservoir after an upstream fall, but never from a boat.

Rick enjoys sharing the history of the area, saying that the Old Haul Road was formed to accommodate the building of the dam, in hauling the aggregate from 1951-1955, from Eldora, where the pond near the ski area exists. They hauled the gravel in and hauled the trees out, using Lazy Z Road.

In the new construction plan, there will be an on-site aggregate quarry eliminating the need to haul it in, but the trees will still need to be hauled out.

Rick is a full-time, year-round employee and there are three seasonal rangers, contracted from the Boulder County Sheriff’s Department to patrol the area.

A woman approached Rick’s “office” and handed him a bunch of life vests, thanking him profusely for loaning them to her and her family.

“Over the year, so many people arrived without wearable life vests that we began having some on hand to loan out,” says Rick.

There are three rules for boating on the reservoir: a life jacket; a safety whistle and identification written out on the boat. Rick says they are logic-based rules to protect the public in case they fall into the cold water.

“I screen the users; nobody gets on a boat without vests. But because we like to promote a positive experience, we have a handful of vests, a bunch of safety whistles and a box of Sharpies, so everyone can be compliant and not have to go back home without getting their boat in the water.”

Rick says he is there to educate and inform in lieu of giving a ticket, a way of protecting the public from themselves.

“I love my job here,” he says. “About 99 percent of the users are happy people and we deal with the other one percent as needed.”

One young man strolled up to Rick and asked him if there were any reservoir regulations and when Rick told him the three rules, he became more and more disappointed thinking he had made the trip for nothing. Then, after educating him, Rick pulled out his lifesavers and made the young man’s day.

One happy camper heading for an afternoon on the sparkling water of Gross.

What will happen to Rick Lewis when the reservoir expansion begins? Where will the kayakers and canoers launch their boats?

These questions become very real now that the Army Corps of Engineers approved Denver Water’s proposal to raise water levels in Gross Reservoir. The Denver Water news release, published on July 8, stated that “The additional stored water will help prevent future shortfalls during droughts.” This approval was issued after 14 years of evaluation and study and public hearings in which Coal Creek Canyon and Magnolia Road area residents formed grass roots opposition to the proposal, citing impact on their quality of life, on the wildlife and on the roads that will be used during the construction period. The project will begin in 2018 with the pre-construction work and is anticipated to be completed in 2025.

Rick says that the boat launch where he was sitting will be under 128 feet of water.

According to Travis Thompson, senior media coordinator for Denver Water, Osprey Point and other recreational facilities that exist today will be restored when the project is complete. The boat ramp near Osprey Point will move east to roughly the intersection of Gross Dam Road and the Boat Ramp Access Road.

Thompson says that once construction begins, DW anticipates that access to the north shore recreation area will continue. In other areas, especially near the dam and in the vicinity of the quarry, recreation will be curtailed during construction for safety reasons.

One of construction impacts of the project will be the removal of trees from the expansion area. A preliminary study was performed nearly a decade ago. Thompson says a comprehensive study into the technologies and methods have improved since then. The final plan will include outreach and public involvement to ensure locals have a voice in how the work proceeds.

Residents of the Winiger Ridge area have all asked what will become of the Forsythe Waterfall that has been a precious resource to the Magnolia Road Community who has visited this natural formation for decades.

Unfortunately, says Thompson, the falls will be collateral damage. “Forsyth Falls will be inundated once Gross reservoir is expanded,” says Thompson. “We understand that this is a loss for the area and are working hard to mitigate and enhance rivers, streams and lands on both sides of the Divide to ensure that this project will provide our state with a net environmental benefit.”

The new 471 foot dam will be the tallest in Colorado history and will be the biggest construction project in Boulder County history. Area environmental groups as well as homeowners who would be impacted by the proposed dam have been fighting the project, formally called the "Moffat Collection System Project," since it began and are considering filing a lawsuit to overturn the Army Corps' decision.

The groups claim that the Corps' decision violates the National Environmental Policy Act and the Clean Water Act, saying that Denver Water doesn't need more water. In fact, Denver's water use has gone down, not up, and is predicted to continue declining. Colorado River and streams in Grand County are already depleted and predicted to be further dried due to climate change. Residents say the Gross construction project would have massive negative impacts in Boulder County including streams of semi-truck trips on the steep mountain roads leading up to the dam, and clear-cutting 200,000 trees, creating constant logging noise over the mountain valleys for at least five years.

"We believe the Army Corps has violated the law," said Gary Wockner of ‘Save The Colorado’ who is leading a coalition of groups to fight the project. "Denver Water doesn't need the water, the Colorado River is already severely drained and depleted, and the people of Boulder County don't want the project. The courts need to take a hard look at this decision."

"Every American river deserves its day in court and the Colorado River deserves the best legal defense we can give it," continued Wockner.

On July 6, the Army Corps of Engineers issued its Record of Decision on the Final Environmental Impact Statement under the National Environmental Policy Act granting the Denver Water a 404 permit for Denver Water to construct the Gross Reservoir Project.

However, before it can commence with any activities related to the construction of the expansion, Denver Water still must receive approval of its hydropower license amendment application which has been filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Boulder County is awaiting action on the permit by FERC.

BC has filed extensive comments throughout the Corps and FERC processes, contending that EIS and other Denver Water submissions have not adequately addressed the purpose and need for the Project, the myriad impacts that the Project will cause, or how these impacts will be avoided or mitigated.

So, it’s not a done deal, but the expansion has definitely taken a giant step forward.

Meanwhile, visitors pour into Gross Reservoir, setting out in their water craft for a delicious summer day in the mountains; all of them safe, thanks to the guidance and support of Ranger Rick, who enjoys every day of his time at Osprey Point.

(Originally published in the July 20, 2017 print edition of The Mountain-Ear.)