Gross Dam construction can continue, but Denver Water can’t fill enlarged reservoir, judge rules

Gross Dam construction can continue, but Denver Water can’t fill enlarged reservoir, judge rules

Denver Water will be allowed to continue construction to raise the height of Gross Dam but will not be permitted to fill the expanded reservoir once the dam is complete, a federal judge ruled late Thursday. Permanently halting construction of the controversial dam would create too much risk that the incomplete structure would fail and threaten habitat and lives downstream, U.S. District Judge Christine Arguello wrote in her decision. “Although t…

Gross Reservoir dam construction can resume, but federal judge says key environmental permits must be redone

A federal judge will allow Denver Water to continue work on a $531 million project to raise a dam in Boulder County, dealing a blow to environmentalists who had hoped to stop the construction. However, Senior U.S. District Judge Christine Arguello in her ruling late Thursday prohibited Denver Water from filling Gross Reservoir until federal environmental permits can be rewritten by the Army Corps of Engineers. This Fresh Water News story is a c…