BOULDER COUNTY, Colo. — Employees on the traditionally controversial Gross Reservoir Dam Growth Venture plan to broaden the bottom of the dam roughly 180 toes extra this 12 months. To attain this, they’re including a brand new layer of concrete on the outdated dam.
Concrete for the dam is being made on web site subsequent to the dam.
“It is large, one of many greatest batch vegetation you may ever see,” a consultant from Denver Water informed Denver7. “And far of the equipment that you simply see on the batch plant is there to chill the aggregates, cool the water. We throw in ice with our large snow cone maker, and we make very chilly concrete, which helps us management the warmth achieve that usually occurs in massive concrete constructions.”
Subsequent 12 months, employees will use the brand new wider dam as the bottom to lift the dam one other 131 toes as a way to almost triple the storage capability of Gross Reservoir.
The extra house is required to unfold out capability exterior of Denver for the water utility utilized by 1.4 million folks within the metropolis and its surrounding suburbs, Denver Water mentioned.
Denver7 360 | In-Depth Information, Opinion
Gross Reservoir dam enlargement to present extra water to Denver
The development challenge just isn’t with out opposition from neighbors and environmentalists who mentioned they’ll endure years of development on a water challenge that may by no means present water to their faucets.
Denver water has 90% of its storage lakes west and south of the metro space, however solely has 10% up north. This new dam challenge will add considerably extra water storage north of town.
Neighbors residing close to the lake nervous in regards to the development noise and harm to wildlife. They tried placing a cease to the challenge by going to informational conferences and voicing their displeasure. Additionally they posted indicators opposing the challenge of their driveways and alongside the county highway close to the dam.
In July of 2021, Denver Water filed a federal lawsuit, alleging that Boulder County leaders had been stalling on getting the utility the allow wanted to start on the reservoir enlargement. The authorized battle briefly put the Gross Reservoir Growth Venture on maintain.
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Boulder County places Gross Reservoir Growth proposal on maintain
On Could 3 of this 12 months, Denver Water and its contractor Kiewit Barnard started inserting concrete to lift Gross Reservoir Dam.
The latest replace was employees on the enlargement challenge informed Denver7, that they had hit 160 vertical toes.
Denver Water | Kiewit Barnard
The present dam is 340 toes tall. After the enlargement challenge, it would stand 471 toes excessive.
“Whereas the outdated dam had a flat floor, the entrance of the expanded one will look extra like the traditional pyramids of Egypt,” Denver Water mentioned.
Denver Water | Kiewit Barnard
As soon as employees add sufficient concrete to the entrance of the outdated dam this 12 months to achieve its present peak, they’re going to add one other 131 toes subsequent 12 months to get to the ultimate objective.
This 12 months’s work in Boulder County is predicted to undergo November, relying on the climate, then restart subsequent Could.
Base of the Gross Reservoir Dam to extend one other 180 toes this 12 months
