A massive expansion to Denver Water鈥檚 Gross Reservoir is in limbo after a federal judge ordered a pause to construction. The agency says it plans to appeal the ruling and finish construction on its dam in Boulder County, which is a little more than halfway finished.
Denver Water has launched a public relations blitz in an attempt to garner public sympathy for its situation.However, the judge and some expert onlookers say Denver Water is in a predicament of its own making.
The agency is now scrambling to tie up loose ends at the dam site during a two-week window before the pause goes into effect.
Why did the judge pause construction?
Judge Christine Arguello said the Army Corps of Engineers didn鈥檛 follow environmental laws when it gave Denver Water the go-ahead to expand its dam. Arguello, a senior judge at the U.S District Court of Colorado, said the engineers did not adequately consider alternative ways for Denver Water to boost its water supply. They also didn鈥檛 do enough to account for the impact of climate change, which could make it hard to fill the enlarged reservoir, .
鈥淭he environmental harm that will occur as a result of the Gross Reservoir enlargement is indisputable and irreparable,鈥� she wrote.
Amid complaints from people living near the reservoir and lawsuits from environmental groups, the federal judge told Denver Water it needed to get new permits if it wants to continue building the reservoir. Arguello said Denver Water acted impatiently and started building even though it knew construction would face legal challenges.
鈥淵ou really have to put a lot of the fault here at the foot of Denver Water,鈥� said Mark Squillace, who teaches water law at the University of Colorado, Boulder. 鈥淭hey just sort of thumbed their nose at the legal process and said, 鈥榃e're going to go forward with this stuff and dare the judge to stop this project midstream.鈥欌��
Denver Water has already spent about $450 million on the now-paused dam project.
How is Denver Water responding?
Denver Water has lashed out at the judge鈥檚 ruling, calling the decision a 鈥渞adical remedy that should raise alarm bells with the public,鈥� in a written press release.
Since the ruling, the agency has tried to rally public support for its project. Spokespeople framed the decision as an example of a 鈥渂roken permitting process鈥� and emphasized that a pause would put construction crews out of work.
In a press conference held at the base of the dam, a Denver Water official made the agency鈥檚 case.
鈥淭he reason we're here doesn't make sense,鈥� said Jeff Martin, who oversees the Gross Reservoir expansion project. 鈥淚t doesn't make sense to our ratepayers. It doesn't make sense to Denver Water. We're caught over a war of words right now.鈥�
Martin said Denver Water is in the process of appealing the ruling, and that the agency needs to resume construction to make sure the dam stays safe.
鈥淲e are pushing to get this back on track and build up as quickly as we can to provide a safe, reliable dam that's built to modern day standards and designs and provide secure water to Denver,鈥� he said.
What are the implications for other Colorado reservoirs?
Massive reservoirs in the Front Range foothills have helped facilitate rapid growth in cities and suburbs. They have often faced challenges from environmental groups, but those groups rarely succeed in stopping reservoir construction entirely.
While the Gross Reservoir expansion may still go ahead after the pause, environmental advocates are hailing Arguello鈥檚 ruling as a victory.
Save the Colorado, one of the groups that challenged Denver Water in court, is run by Gary Wockner. He is also behind Save the Poudre, an environmental group that recently settled its lawsuit against a completely different reservoir project in Northern Colorado.
Northern Water, the agency planning to build two new reservoirs northeast of Fort Collins, seems to be breathing a sigh of relief after settling its lawsuit shortly before the ruling against Denver Water.
鈥淚t feels good to have that behind us instead of the unknowns that we would be in right now if we hadn't settled and this decision came out,鈥� said Stephanie Cecil, a senior project manager with Northern Water. 鈥淏eing able to be past that lawsuit, have that lawsuit completely dismissed, really puts us in a much better position moving forward with a lot less risk.鈥�
Squillace, the CU professor, said 鈥淭he era of big new water projects is pretty much over,鈥� and doesn鈥檛 expect the ruling against Denver Water to serve as precedent that would block future reservoir construction. He said it may have implications for the National Environmental Policy Act 鈥� the process used to issue permits for large construction projects like the Gross Reservoir dam expansion.
鈥淚 don't see this as a radical move at all. What I see is Denver Water using extreme language to characterize this judge's opinion in a way that you know is not really based in reality,鈥� he said.
This story is part of ongoing coverage of the water in the West, produced by KUNC in Colorado and supported by the Walton Family Foundation. KUNC is solely responsible for its editorial coverage.
