A massive new reservoir project in Northern Colorado is closer to reality after its architects settled a lawsuit with an environmental group seeking to block construction. The Northern Integrated Supply Project, or NISP, will go ahead sooner than expected after a lawsuit settlement. Northern Water will pay $100 million into a trust after Save the Poudre, a nonprofit, agreed to drop its lawsuit. That money will fund river improvement projects.
The controversial water project, which will cost around $2 billion to build, has been tied up in planning and permitting for more than two decades. Advocates for the new reservoirs say it's an important way to make sure fast-growing communities in Larimer and Weld counties have enough water for new homes and residents. Opponents worry it will take water out of a Cache la Poudre River that is already taxed by diversions for cities and farms.
Gary Wockner, director of Save the Poudre, said the settlement money will go into a new 鈥淧oudre River Improvement Fund.鈥�
鈥淲e didn't give up,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e didn't quit. We got the best outcome for the river that we very strongly believe we could have gotten. We could have fought 鈥榯il the bitter end in court, and there was a risk of losing and getting absolutely nothing.鈥�
The fund can be used for 鈥渆cological, habitat, and recreational improvements,鈥� including the potential creation of a 鈥淧oudre River Water Trail鈥� from Gateway Park in Poudre Canyon to Eastman Park in Windsor. The fund will be managed by a six-person committee, three of whom will be appointed by Save the Poudre, and three by the NISP enterprise.
Wockner described the settlement as 鈥渓ikely one of the largest river conservation settlements in U.S. history for a river its size鈥� and a turning point for his organization.
鈥淚f it was Save the Poudre 1.0 which fought [NISP] for 20 years now, it's going to be Save the Poudre 2.0 which talks about how to use all of this money to protect, and even if possible, start improving the Cache la Poudre River," he said.
NISP would supply 15 different water providers along the northern Front Range through two reservoirs and a system of pipelines and pumps. Northern Water, the agency that would build and operate NISP, projects that it will provide water to nearly 500,000 people by 2050.
Water from the system would flow to a diverse group of towns and cities north of Denver. Small, fast-growing towns such as Erie and Windsor stand to receive some of the largest water allocations from NISP. The list also includes the Fort Collins Loveland Water District, the Left Hand Water District, which is just north of Boulder, and Fort Morgan on the eastern plains.
鈥淭hese are communities that have identified the need for housing as something that will increase the quality of life,鈥� said Jeff Stahla, a spokesman for Northern Water. 鈥淪o this is an important time for us as residents to realize that we can help to solve some of the problems and some of the the challenges that we're seeing out there on the horizon as more people choose to live here.鈥�
Stahla said construction is expected to take off in 2026, with some pipes being laid in the summer and fall of this year. If Save the Poudre鈥檚 lawsuit was still in place, he said, construction would have begun in 鈥�2027 or even beyond.鈥� Glade Reservoir, the centerpiece of NISP鈥檚 water storage system, would flood a valley northwest of Fort Collins that is currently home to a stretch of U.S. Highway 287 connecting Fort Collins and Laramie, Wyo. That section of road would be rebuilt further East.
Stahla said Northern Water鈥檚 permit includes requirements to mitigate environmental impacts caused by the new reservoirs. He alluded to the fact that the river is already connected to a number of large reservoirs and its water is piped and pumped far away from its original course.
鈥淭he Poudre River has really been a working river for 150 years now,鈥� he said. 鈥淲hat NISP is planning to do certainly is not the only impacts to the river that have been occurring or will occur.鈥�
Both Stahla and Wockner suggested work on diversion structures, which redirect the river鈥檚 water towards farms and water treatment plants. Stahla suggested they could be modernized, and Wockner said they could be moved further downstream to allow more water to flow through certain sections of the river.
This story is part of ongoing coverage of water in the West, produced by KUNC in Colorado and supported by the Walton Family Foundation. KUNC is solely responsible for its editorial coverage.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story mischaracterized who will hold money from the settlement and the location of the new U.S. Highway 287. This story has since been updated.
