Denver Water Sues Boulder County Over Reservoir Expansion Project

Denver Water filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday against Boulder County that claims the county is trying to delay the Gross Reservoir expansion project.

"The county is overreaching its authority and jeopardizing a federally ordered reservoir expansion critical to a safe and secure water supply for one quarter of the state’s population while risking long-planned benefits for the West Slope environment," Denver Water said in a news release.

The Denver agency said Boulder County is "endangering the project through delays, repeated and expanding requests for information — information demands that duplicate the already completed federal permitting process in which Boulder County participated — the potential for months of additional hearings."

The $465 million expansion project — which has been nearly two decades in the making — would widen the Gross Dam by 800 feet and raise it by 131 feet, which would increase the reservoir's water storage by 77,000 acre-feet — enough to ensure supply for 1.5 million Colorado homes if drought hits, Denver Water said.

"Denver Water’s new lawsuit comes as a surprise because just two weeks ago, county staff informed Denver Water that the county had scheduled hearings in front of the Boulder County Planning Commission in August and the Board of County Commissioners in September, despite Denver Water’s unwillingness to provide all the information County staff had requested," Boulder County Attorney Ben Pearlman said in a statement.

"The County hasn’t been served with the lawsuit. The County Attorney’s Office will review the claims and file a thorough response at the appropriate time."

At least two commissioners have expressed their opposition to the project, according to Denver Water.

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Some environmental groups and residents who live near the reservoir have expressed concerns about the impact of the expansion on the ecosystem in the area. An environmental impact study was conducted over six years and in 2012, Denver Water released an environmental impact statement.

The agency said the Colorado government "has studied the likely impacts, compared these with the mitigation and enhancements we have committed to as conditions of various agreements and permits, and found the project will have a 'net environmental benefit' for Colorado."

There are also concerns about light and noise pollution, and Denver Water posted responses to the concerns on its Gross Reservoir expansion website.