The “Save the Poudre’” movement may be ‘fighting the good fight’, but is it the right fight?

Glade Reservoir has been a hot topic and, as usual, one surrounded with a lot misinformation wrapped in emotion and opinion. 

Let’s take a minute to clear the water:

1) Colorado has ‘spilled’/lost 1.2 million cubic acre feet of water ABOVE our contracted obligation over the past 3 years, overfilling reservoirs across Nebraska and continuing down stream.

2) Glade is designed as an off-stream storage reservoir and will not ‘Dam the Poudre’.

3) Glade Reservoir cannot ‘dry up the Poudre’. The reservoir can only take excess water. Excess means anything left after a) agricultural water users, b) businesses and c) minimum river rates are met. 

4) Glade Reservoir cannot ‘ruin the river through Fort Collins’. Instead, Glade has been designed to both prevent unsafe excess flow/flood and maintain a minimum flow rate during low-flow months. This means greater safety during high-flow and better river health during low-flow by preventing the stagnation of sitting water that now occurs.

(*Current flow is only 3caf in town and the base of the canyon is at 300caf. Glade Reservoir would maintain a minimum of 25caf in winter and 50 in summer)

5) Glade Reservoir is designed to minimize the fluctuations between excess and low water years. This will ensure the continued growth in our agricultural industries in drought years (such as this one) and the health of our microbreweries and other water-dependent industries.

6) Glade Reservoir will also create another large recreational destination for boating, fishing and camping.

From our perspective, anything that increases the value of our region while securing its potential for growth and supporting the health of our food supply is a win-win, but perhaps we are missing something?

The anti-Glade sentiment runs high but I have to wonder, are they fighting to save something that isn’t in any danger?

And, if not Glade, then what do they propose?

Save the Poudre? From What? A Look at Glade Reservoir

The Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District (Northern Water for short) hosted a fantastic water tour yesterday exploring existing water projects and necessary future projects.  Over the next two weeks, watch for our ‘Water Series’ about:

• Proposed Glade Reservoir (good, bad and otherwise)
• Carter Lake and the new Hydroelectric plant
• Proposed Chimney Hollow Reservoir
• What a warm winter and dry spring will mean for 2012

The NoCo Home Team is dedicated to the motto ‘always keep learning’ and we were really impressed with the information available and how important it is to share this with our clients and friends.  We highly recommend a visit to their beautiful facility in Berthoud for free information and interactive gardens showcasing water-conserving plants, grasses and landscaping techniques in addition to detailed information about the direction of water projects for Northern Colorado.

Stay tuned!

NoCo Water and You – Water Conservation Tour