Gov. Hickenlooper Backs Gross Reservoir Expansion
DENVER (CBS4) - Gov. John Hickenlooper is giving his support to a plan to expand Gross Reservoir.
Denver Water owns the reservoir and wants to triple its size. It says it needs the extra space to store water for droughts and to help with Denver's increasing population.
"The state's responsibility is to ensure we do the right thing for Colorado's future, and this project is vital infrastructure for our economy and the environment," said Hickenlooper in a news release.
"The partnerships and collaboration between Denver Water, the West Slope and conservation organizations associated with this project are just what the Colorado Water Plan is all about."
Denver Water started moving forward on the expansion project in 2003. Now it's hoping to have all the permits in place by the end of 2017.
"Colorado is a growing and dynamic state," said Denver Water CEO Jim Lochhead in the same release. "Denver Water has the critical responsibility to sustain over 25 percent of the state's population and the majority of our economy for decades to come."
The project will cost about $380 million.
LINKS:
You can find out more at grossreservoir.org and denverwaterblog.org.
