Trout Unlimited/courtesy Photo
The project is now in full swing ten years after plans for a diversion route to the Colorado River around Windy Gap Reservoir, outside Granby, were finalized.
A consortium of state-owned and commercial water companies announced Monday that they will begin digging dirt on land adjacent to U.S. Highway 40 in the late summer or early July to fill in a portion of the existing reservoir, and drew a new path for Colorado River flow around it.
The Natural Resources Conservation Service issued a Finding of No Significant Implication based on its Environmental Assessment of the Colorado River Connectivity Channel. Kirk Klancke, president, Colorado River Headwaters Chapter, Trout Unlimited, stated that the decision opens the door to construction. It will be completed in 2023 and provide a mile-long public fishing access to Colorado.
Trout Unlimited is joined in the creation of the project by The Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District Municipal Subdistrict Municipal Subdistrict, Grand County, and the Upper Colorado River Alliance.
Klancke said to Sky-Hi News the project is long overdue for Colorado’s sake. The state has been suffering since Windy Gap was built back in the 1980s. It blocks sediment and fish passage downstream and upstream of the dam. It also holds water in a shallow storage reservoir, which can sometimes raise stream temperatures downstream from the dam when it is released. Windy days can cause soils around the reservoir to be stirred up in the water, which can then fill the river below it with sediments.
Klancke said that the dam caused the Colorado River to be flooded for miles. The interstitial spaces between the rocks below the dam were filled with sediment. Sculpin (a small fish that is a food source and food source to trout) has disappeared. The giant stonefly, which was another important food source for trout disappeared. According to a Colorado Parks and Wildlife study, 38% of macroinvertebrates have disappeared. The ecosystem has been in decline since the Williams Fork Reservoir dam was built. They placed a dam in the middle of a main stream, which is not possible today.
The reservoir, which houses water from the Fraser River and Upper Colorado rivers, will be reduced and deepened through the connectivity project. Northern has the rights to 220,000 acre feet of water from Colorado through the Colorado-Big Thompson water diversion agreement. This water is pumped into Lake Granby and Shadow Mountain Reservoir, Grand Lake, and through miles of underground tunnels to many cities on the Front Range.
This is a concern for water entities like the Upper Colorado River Watershed Group. They have asked the agencies to conduct a water accounting within the Upper Colorado River Watershed in order to verify that there is enough water before moving forward with the project.
Andy Miller, President of UCRWG, stated that the group does not oppose the project outright but that it had important questions for the Colorado Division of Water Resources.
Miller said that during the process, we requested a full accounting outlining how current and future basin water flows compare with local, Front Range and downstream water rights. Without an accurate picture of the river’s current state, we cannot make decisions such as this.
The Colorado Division of Water Resources manages water rights, represents Colorado at interstate water compact proceedings and monitors stream flow and water usage. It also approves construction and repairs of dams. The following was the email that Kevin Rein, the State Engineer for the Colorado Division of Water Resources, sent to the Sky-Hi:
The water court determines the water right for this diversion. At the time of application to water court, the question of water availability will be addressed.
Once the court has issued a decree for this diversion with priority date, the Division of Water Resources shall administer it in the prior appropriation, just as they do with all Colorado water rights. If the water rights can divert without affecting any water rights that are more senior, and if the decree is consistent with all terms, they may divert. If they can’t, the water right cannot be diverted.
Klancke stated, “If the water doesn’t exist, Northern doesnt get a pump.” But the water in this channel will always be available because it’s guaranteed in Senate Document 80 (passed by the 75th Congress on June 24, 1937). Senate Doc 80 created Lake Granby as well as Shadow Mountain Lake. Lake Granby must release certain flows. These flows must be in the channel, as there are guaranteed flows beneath the dam. They can’t take that water and dry it up below the dam. It must pass through the channel and continue to the river, because it is guaranteed by Congress.
Windy Gap reports that the Upper Colorado River Watershed Groups would be the first to deal with the dam’s complete removal. The Connectivity Project, however, will cost $27million.
The Natural Resources Conservation Service will receive the bulk of these funds. Klancke claims that Northern has already contributed more than the $2 million it had initially committed to from a $2 million to $4million Open Lands Rivers and Trails funds.
Klancke says that Northern is a water Buffalo by many Grand County residents due to its interest in diverting water from the Front Range. Klancke also states that Northern has gone above and beyond in supporting the project.
The Natural Resources Conservation Services environmental assessment has shown that the project will have long-term benefits for the environment (i.e. soil, air, water and other natural resources (i.e. The Natural Resources Conservation Service now has the ability to pledge funds for construction of the project and may also consider granting additional funds up to $9 Million.
Grand Countys Board of County Commissioners commended Natural Resources Conservation Services’ work in reaching their decision and recognized the extraordinary work of project partners and individual champions.
