Top 10 Facts about the Moffat Collection System Project
- Since 1997, Denver Water has pursued a multipronged water strategy to increase supply and decrease demand by implementing an aggressive conservation plan, completing a recycled water system and developing new supply.
- Denver Water is vigorously implementing the first two strategies and will continue to do so. Now the utility needs to address three major challenges:
- The risk of a near-term water supply shortfall
- The risk of running out of water in the north end of our system during a single dry year
- A serious imbalance in our water collection system
- The Corps examined more than 300 options to meet Denver Water’s needs, which resulted in five “practicable alternatives.”
- Of those five options, Denver Water believes enlarging Gross Reservoir by 72,000 acre-feet would deliver the most benefits at the least cost and with similar environmental impact compared with the other practicable alternatives.
- To meet these ends, Denver Water’s preferred alternative is to raise Gross Dam by approximately 125 feet. If approved, the Moffat Project would yield 18,000 acre-feet of new supply — enough water for roughly 45,000 households annually — by expanding an existing reservoir.
- There are two concurrent permit applications in progress for solving these challenges.
- Denver Water is applying for an amendment to its license with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) related to Gross Reservoir to address the project’s increased dam and reservoir size; expansion of the current FERC project boundary; increased hydroelectric power generation; and relocation of existing recreation facilities.
- Denver Water also will apply for a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to enlarge Gross Reservoir.
- Streamflow in the Fraser and Williams Fork rivers would be decreased by this project only during wet and average years during runoff months.
- Denver Water will build new recreational facilities to replace those removed for the project.
- Denver Water is working with interest groups and other local agencies to develop a mitigation plan to offset environmental effects of the proposed Moffat Collection System Project. In addition to fully mitigating project impacts as part of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement process, Denver Water will provide environmental enhancements, including:
- Up to 2,000 acre-feet of additional water for augmenting streamflow in Grand County
- $2 million for improving water quality in Grand County
- $2 million for stream modifications to improve aquatic habitat in Grand County
- A partnership with Boulder and Lafayette to provide 5,000 acre-feet of storage space in an enlarged Gross Reservoir to improve aquatic habitat in South Boulder Creek
- Denver Water, Grand County, Boulder, Lafayette, environmental groups and others still are discussing the proposed environmental enhancements, which go far beyond what the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers requires for mitigating impacts caused by the Moffat Collection System Project. Though the parties have not yet agreed on all the enhancement projects, Denver Water is committed to enhancing the watersheds affected by the Moffat Collection System Project.
