Gross Reservoir Expansion Project
Environmental Review Process
As a federally permitted project, the purpose, need and environmental impacts of the project have been vetted through almost a decade of research. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released the Final Environmental Impact Statement in 2014 that details project mitigation measures and addresses public comment received after publication of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement. Like many water supply projects, there are a number of permits at the federal, state and local level that are needed before construction can begin:
401 Certification
- Also a component of the Clean Water Act of 1972, 401 Certification is a process handled at the state level. In the case of the Gross Reservoir Expansion Project, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment is responsible for evaluating the impacts of and ensuring water quality associated with this project.
- Secured: June 2016
Record of Decision and 404 Permit
- A major responsibility of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is administering the permitting program under Section 404 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1972, also known as the Clean Water Act. Permit review and authorization is a thoughtful and lengthy process that encourages avoidance of impacts, followed by minimizing impacts and, finally, requiring mitigation for unavoidable impacts to the aquatic environment.
- 404 Permit
- Secured: July 2017
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Hydropower License Amendment
- The Gross Reservoir Dam includes a 7.6 mW hydropower unit, which is licensed for operation by FERC. Under the Federal Power Act, FERC has exclusive authority to license non-federal hydropower projects. The amendment of license process requires that FERC address both the economics and engineering issues and the potential environmental and socioeconomic effects of project development and operation.
- Denver Water expects to receive the License Amendment by the end of 2019.
Latest News / Blog
Indoor ‘waterfall’ puts water to the test at CSU
TAP - October 2, 2019 - “It’s a fun job and also extremely important to the communities where these structures are built,” said Chris Thornton, director of the Colorado State University Hydraulics Laboratory. “Our job is to provide designers with information to make...
Beautiful weather and great cookout!
On Saturday, September 28 Denver Water hosted the fifth community cookout at the Gross Reservoir Expansion Project public information yurt. We enjoyed meeting new visitors to the yurt and were happy to see some returning guests to hear about the latest project...
Improving aquatic habitat on Kemp-Breeze section of Williams Fork
Colorado Parks & Wildlife - Sept. 26, 2019 - "The fish will benefit, the anglers will benefit and this state wildlife area will become an even more attractive place to spend the day outdoors catching trout." Full press release available here.
Community cookout this Saturday, Sept. 28
To celebrate another great summer of outreach and relationship building, the Gross Reservoir Expansion Project team is hosting a community cookout on Saturday, Sept. 28, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. located at the public information yurt, just up the fill from our...