Windy Gap Firming Project: Draft Environmental Impact Statement

Colorado Division of Wildlife Commissioners Bob Streeter and David Brougham will meet with the public on Wednesday, October 13 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. The meeting will be held at the Estes Park Room in the Thomas McKee Building at The Ranch in Loveland to hear comments on the potential impacts of the Windy Gap Firming Project .

The Windy Gap Firming Project would construct a new water storage reservoir that would provide more reliable water deliveries to Front Range and West Slope communities and industry from the existing Windy Gap Project . Current Windy Gap facilities are unable to deliver the firm yield of water that was originally anticipated due to the limitations and constraints of the existing system. The desired condition is to add water storage and related facilities to existing Windy Gap operations capable of delivering a firm annual yield of about 30,000 acre-feet (9.8 billon gallons) to project participants.

The City of Greeley is one of several water providers involved in the project and is committed to purchasing 7,000 acre-feet (2.3 billon gallons) of storage in the proposed Chimney Hollow Reservoir, the preferred alternative of the Windy Gap Firming Project. The other Windy Gap Firming Project participants are: Broomfield, Longmont, Lafayette, Louisville, Loveland, Erie, Evans, Fort Lupton, Superior, the Central Weld County Water District, the Little Thompson Water District and the Platte River Power Authority.

To review the draft Environmental Impact Statement for Windy Gap Firming go to:  http://www.usbr.gov/gp/nepa/quarterly.cfm