Please send an email to the Fort Collins City Council:

NISP Would Devastate the Poudre River and our Natural Areas. NISP Must Undergo a 1041 Review Process

First Name (required)

Last Name (required)

Your Email (required)

Address

City

State

Zip Code

Subject

Message

Dear Fort Collins City Council, The Cache la Poudre River is the crown jewel of Fort Collins. If the Northern Integrated Supply Project (NISP) is built, so much water would be drained out of the Poudre that the river would resemble a muddy, stinky ditch through Fort Collins. Further, the NISP pipeline would devastate some of the City's Natural Areas. Please require a full, robust, public, "1041 review" of NISP. Construction of the NISP pipeline through city limits, and associated easements, will create direct disturbances in Homestead, Kingfisher Point, and Riverbend Ponds Natural Areas. Adopting 1041 regulations would offer the City greater authority over these types of huge development projects. This includes the ability to deny a permit for construction within the city limits if such actions are deemed to have adverse impacts on the environment and natural resources. We encourage Council to expedite adoption of 1041 regulations at your Tuesday, Oct. 19th meeting and place a "moratorium" on NISP until those 1041 regulations are developed. The Poudre already has about 60% of its water drained out by farms and cities before the river reaches downtown Fort Collins. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers stated that NISP would drain 68% of the remaining water out of the river in the month of May, 25% in June, and 45% in July. The peak flow of the river -- which is integral for the ecological health of the river through Fort Collins -- would be drained by 50%. Draining so much water out of the river would cause severe negative impacts including: - The river water would be warmer which can lead to fish die-offs, - More sediment and mud would build up on the bottom of the river, - Native trout can’t spawn in mud, and would be overtaken by warm-water fish like carp and bullheads, - Algae would increasingly grow in the riverbed and on rocks, - Pollution of City’s stormwater and wastewater would be much worse due to lack of dilution, - Water quality would worsen, including an increase in E. coli bacteria, making the river unhealthy for human enjoyment, - Wetlands along the river would be increasingly dried up, - The forest canopy along the river corridor through town –- cottonwoods and willows -- would be increasingly dried up and die off, - Recreational opportunity at the new Whitewater Park would be severely diminished, - Flooding would increase, - The river would be ugly, more like a muddy stinking ditch. NISP is by far the most controversial project in the Fort Collins history. NISP's proposed diversion structure in the Poudre in Fort Collins, NISP's pipeline through our Natural Areas, and NISP's proposed pump building on our City-owned Natural Area land all require a 1041 review. Thank you for your service to Fort Collins! Sincerely,