Hi Friends of the Poudre, First, I want to give you an update on what's going on with the Northern Integrated Supply Project (NISP) and the $100 million river conservation Settlement Agreement we reached with NISP last year. You've no doubt read a number of news stories that have called into question whether NISP is actually going to get built or not. Importantly, we don't have any great insight about the answer, but we note that Northern Water, and its General Manager, Brad Wind, are openly talking about the struggle that NISP is facing because of the project's dramatically increased costs. Recent stories have appeared in the Greeley Tribune and Colorado Sun. A few weeks ago, I was at the Poudre River Forum in Greeley speaking on stage alongside Brad. When asked directly whether NISP was going to get built, he said that the project was struggling and he'd know more in a few months. Brad also noted that NISP might have to be downsized because participants are dropping out, but again, there's not a firm answer to the question right now. At the Forum, I was also asked if Save The Poudre supports NISP getting built. The answer I gave is that we don't have a position on whether or not NISP should get built, but if NISP does get built we are 100% in support of the $100 million Settlement Agreement. In fact, the Agreement is a contract between Save The Poudre and NISP, and we absolutely will honor our side of the contract by working with NISP to invest the $100 million in conservation projects to achieve the best outcome for the River as possible. To that end, the Poudre River Improvement Fund Committee has been meeting regularly for the last 9 months. So far, NISP has contributed $5 million to the Fund, but the future contributions won't occur unless NISP moves forward. The Committee is deliberating about how it will move forward, as well, given the uncertainty around NISP, and given that many problems and projects on the River will need further study before they can receive settlement funds. We will keep you in the loop if and when we know more! Second, we've been having conversations with the City of Fort Collins about their proposal to build a large new dam on the North Fork of the Poudre at the Halligan site. We've been very open and public about our stance on Halligan, and how our stance is tied to NISP. In a nutshell, if NISP moves forward, we believe that Fort Collins should join NISP rather than build a new on-channel dam completely across the river at the Halligan site. In fact, with participants dropping out of NISP, there appears to be space in Glade Reservoir for Fort Collins to participate in NISP. Further, we strongly believe it makes more sense to build just one new water storage project in the Poudre watershed, not two, and Glade Reservoir is an off-channel storage project rather…
Poudre River Update: NISP, Thornton Pipeline, and Halligan Project
Hi Friends of the Poudre,
We want to give you an update on all of our work, especially on projects you may be reading about in the newspaper. It’s been a long 20-year adventure for Save The Poudre, much of which is winding down, while new projects are winding up.
First, the Northern Integrated Supply Project (NISP). Recall that we reached a settlement agreement with NISP that dedicated $100 million to the Poudre River Improvement Fund (PRIF). The PRIF committee, of which we appoint 3 members, is now meeting on a monthly basis. They have begun to outline the 15-year work plan ahead of them, and will slowly start identifying projects to spend the money on. We are very pleased with how the process is proceeding, and we are optimistic that the money will be well spent. We will let you know when the first project is funded, which may be in 2026.
You likely also read that NISP is facing some uncertainty because the largest participant — the Fort Collins Loveland Water District — is threatening to drop out. We don’t have any additional information about this, but we are monitoring the situation closely. The PRIF is only funded if NISP moves forward, and the money alloted to PRIF depends on construction benchmarks including the construction of the Glade Reservoir dam. We’ll keep you posted as we learn more.
Second, the Thornton Pipeline. You may have read in the newspaper this week that we decided not to appeal the decision from the district court judge who approved the pipeline by ruling against our lawsuit. We made this decision because this judge’s ruling is now the third time that the courts have ruled that Thornton can’t be forced to send their water down the Poudre River rather than in a pipeline north of Fort Collins.
The first ruling was back in the year 2020, when a district court judge ruled that Thornton violated the County land use code and had to change the route of the pipeline, but couldn’t be forced to put the water in the river. The second time was when that same case came before the state court of appeals which upheld the district court judge’s ruling. And the third time was just last month on our new and most recent lawsuit where a different judge ruling against us and our effort to force Thornton to put the water in the River.
There are numerous legal details about why we thought the third time might be the charm, including that the County land use code had changed, and that the Thornton application was completely different. But, as they say, three strikes and you’re out — it makes no sense for us to appeal and waste our supporters’ donations when we have been repeatedly ruled against by different judges and different levels of courts. The Pipeline will get built.
Finally, Fort Collins’ “Halligan Project”. The City of Fort Collins is proposing to tear down Halligan down northwest of Fort Collins on the North Fork of the Poudre River, and replace it with a larger dam a hundred yards downstream. The new dam would also be on the channel of the river, even taller at around 100 feet, and is currently predicted to cost over $300 million of Fort Collins ratepayers’ money. We have been monitoring and commenting on this project for nearly 20 years.
We are currently having conversations with the City about “alternatives” that were identified in the Army Corps Environmental Impact Statement. One alternative is to store the City’s water in NISP’s Glade Reservoir, or even to be a participant in NISP, options that we are further investigating. Glade Reservoir is “off-channel” which is generally less environmentally damaging than a dam “on-channel,” but many details need to be understood and investigated before we take a formal stance.
Through all of this, we continue to keep our eyes and minds focused sharply on the ecological health of the river, the amount of water flowing in the river, and what’s best for the river.
Thanks for reading and all of your support! Feel free to reach out.
Gary Wockner, Director, Save The Poudre
