For decades, Colorado water suppliers have wrangled over how to use our arid state’s limited supplies. Meanwhile, Colorado’s population has soared and the state has suffered repeated droughts.
Against this backdrop, water managers on the Front Range (where most Coloradans live) and the Western Slope (where most of the water comes from) are discussing a plan that would allow metro Denver to take more water over the Continental Divide. The mere face of such talks is progress.
The plan envisions taking water from Green Mountain Reservoir south of Kremmling and pumping it 25 miles uphill to Dillon Reservoir. From there, the Denver Water Department’s existing network of pipes and tunnels would bring the water into the metro area. But Denver might not be the only beneficiary.
Instead, a key focus is on rapid population growth in Douglas County and other southern suburbs. Many of those areas don’t have surface water rights and so depend on groundwater, but their aquifers aren’t recharging as fast as they’re being depleted.
Western Slope water managers hope the Green Mountain plan would ward off even more destructive ways the Front Range might take western Colorado water. Denver’s water chief, Chips Barry, also likes the idea because it could resolve the intrastate bickering. The idea was first discussed 15 years ago but shelved because of several problems.
The Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District (which serves Fort Collins and other Front Range cities) takes water from the Colorado River drainage and pumps it over the divide into the Big Thompson drainage. Because that diversion left less water for the Western Slope, the federal government built Green Mountain Reservoir to make up for the losses.
So, moving water from Green Mountain would require Congress to approve a change in the reservoir’s use. It would force cooperation that does not now exist between Denver Water and Northern. And while Denver may let other districts use its delivery system, it doesn’t want to commit to expanding its service area.
Even with these obstacles, using Green Mountain to untangle the long stalemate is worth public discussion. It might offer a solution with benefits on both sides, or, if nothing else, it could spark other ideas for solving Colorado’s chronic water worries.
