Laserfiche WebLink
<br />Page 3 <br />Legislative Interim Committee on Land and Water Resources <br />RE: Wolford Mountain Reservoir <br /> <br />The River District, having chosen not to advocate for a single site, accepted Muddy Creek <br />despite its comparative disadvantages. The Muddy Creek dam site is an open valley in <br />Cretaceous shales requiring a significantly wider eartbfill dam at a considerably higher cost than <br />the incised, granitic Rock Creek site would have required. <br /> <br />Public acceptance of the Muddy Creek site enabled the project to receive all its necessary <br />permits with a minimum of objections. Had the River District pursued permitting the Rock Creek <br />site as aforegone decisian andfought public opinion in the final siting decision, it is unlikely <br />that construction would even be initiated today. <br /> <br />DENVER WATER'S LEASE/OWNERSHIP <br />In 1987 the Denver Water Department entered into a lease with the River District for 40% of the <br />water in the West.Slope's compensatory reservoir (then Rock Creek Reservoir) for a period of25 <br />years. Under the lease agreement, Denver would release water from this reservoir in substitution <br />for Dillon Reservoir releases in dry years when Dillon would otherwise be called out by senior <br />West Slope water rights. The 25-year lease term would provide Denver with an interim water <br />supply until Two Forks was filled and operating. The River District in turn would use Denver's <br />lease payments to repay an approved CWCB construction loan, which along with the <br />subdistrict's $10.2 million would finance construction. At least that was the plan. <br /> <br />However, by early 1992 the EP A had vetoed Two Forks, projected construction costs for the <br />Wolford Mountain Project had escalated beyond the River District's resources, and Douglas <br />Bruce had a predecessor to Amendment I on the November ballot. Simply put, the situation <br />was: Denver had an 25 year interim water supply with nothing at the end of that term; the River <br />District had a permitted reservoir project but insufficient funds to build it; and the bond attorneys <br />couldn't decide what the proposed taxlimitation measure meant for public financing. <br /> <br />Chips Barry, the new head of Denver Water, came to the River District's April 1992 Board <br />meeting with a proposal. Denver would make an up front payment to the River District <br />sufficient to eliminate the River District's need for debt financing (other than the approved <br />CWCB loan) and would increase its lease payments for Wolford water. In return Denver would <br />acquire a permanent interest in water from Wolford Mountain Reservoir. Additionally, in trade <br />for additional water in Wolford, Denver agreed to bypass a portion of its Fraser River diversions. <br />This bypass of water from Denver's Moffat Tunnel collection system would address existing <br />water supply constraints in eastern Grand County which were so severe that building moratoria <br />were in place in several communities. Also West Slope proceeds from Wolford assisted Summit <br />County water entities in purchasing Clinton Reservoir from Amax Mining to address municipal <br />and snow making water supply constraints in Summit County. <br />