E-Waternews | March 2022

Northern Water is the lead agency in a project to measure the state's snowpack using aerial radar technology.

State Grant Will Fund Aerial Snowpack Observations

Northern Water is taking a key role to improve the way Colorado’s snowpack is measured, paving the way for improved streamflow forecasts to help water supply managers for years to come.

Earlier this month, the Colorado Water Conservation Board approved a $1.9 million grant for work to be done by the Colorado Airborne Snow Measurement group, which consists of municipal water providers, irrigation companies and environmental groups. Northern Water was the primary applicant for the funds through the Colorado Water Plan Grant Program. 

Key to the effort is Airborne Snow Observatory technology that uses radar to measure the distance from the top of the snowpack to the ground below. That data collected over a wide area will provide more information than the single-point SNOTEL snow observation sites used today. 

"The proposed technology has been shown to be the most accurate method at the watershed scale for estimating Snow Water Equivalent," according to the grant application. Data will be collected from several drainage basins statewide through the program.

If the data generated by the program proves to increase the accuracy of streamflow projections, it could start the conversation for future use of the technology. Northern Water is a proud partner of the effort.

Read a Fresh Water News story about the project.

A Northern Water employee puts the finishing touch on a concrete replacement project in the Colorado-Big Thompson Project this spring.

Northern Water Maintenance Crews Go Underground to Replace Aging Concrete    

Concrete work is a fairly common component of Northern Water’s fall and winter maintenance regimen on the Colorado-Big Thompson (C-BT) Project. But in addition to the usual replacement of panels along nearly 100 miles of C-BT canals, crews this winter also repaired concrete flooring that over time had succumbed to the elements.

The hitch: Crews could only access it by being harnessed in as they used a hatch and ladder to get to the site.

As Northern Water’s Bruce Wild explains in this 2-minute video, Colorado’s intense freeze-and-thaw cycle can be brutal on concrete, and that was the case for the flooring that crews replaced in recent weeks. That particular infrastructure had been exposed to the elements for more than 35 years before a roof was eventually built over it in the 1990s. The pre-roof weather exposure and additional wear-and-tear since then had worn the concrete floor down to rebar in multiple places.

To address the issue, Northern Water maintenance crews jack-hammered about 6 to 8 inches deep, just past the existing rebar, to remove the 6.5-yard stretch of aging concrete, before pouring the new flooring. Altogether, the project took about a week and a half, running from late February into early March.

Registration Full for Spring Water Users Meeting on April 13

The Northern Water Spring Water Users Meeting is now at capacity and accepting names for a waitlist. The annual meeting is from 8 a.m.-2 p.m. on April 13 at the Embassy Suites in Loveland.

The meeting includes time for water users throughout Northern Water boundaries to provide input regarding the 2022 quota level for the Colorado-Big Thompson Project. Information gathered at the meeting will be included in the data used by the Northern Water Board of Directors to set the quota at its monthly board meeting on April 14. If you would like to provide feedback regarding the quota via email, please email generaldelivery@northernwater.org by 5 p.m. on April 13.

In addition, the meeting will provide an opportunity to learn about the latest activities being carried out by Northern Water, such as the construction of Chimney Hollow Reservoir, the restoration of lands damaged by the 2020 Colorado wildfires and the future of our forested source watersheds.

To add your name to the wait list or if you have registered and are now unable to attend, please email events@northernwater.org.

Cranes lifted sections of a new bridge at Chimney Hollow Reservoir into place.

Bridge to Future Chimney Hollow Recreation Facilities Takes Shape

In what was described as a “milestone” day, crews installed a bridge on Feb. 9, 2022, to connect two sections of a new Larimer County access road at the Chimney Hollow Reservoir construction site.

The bridge crosses over the Colorado-Big Thompson (C-BT) Project’s Bald Mountain Penstocks above Flatiron Reservoir. It will provide reservoir construction access during the next three to four years before becoming part of the entry road to Chimney Hollow’s future recreation and open space facilities.  

After construction of Chimney Hollow Reservoir is complete in 2025, Larimer County will manage recreation activities at the site, which are expected to include wakeless boating, fishing, trails for biking and hiking and other outdoor opportunities.  

“Larimer County Department of Natural Resources is pleased to partner to provide future public recreation access at Chimney Hollow Reservoir and at the county’s adjacent Chimney Hollow Open Space,” said Meegan Flenniken, Larimer County Land Conservation, Planning & Resource Program Manager. According to Flenniken, a future management planning process will identify specific recreation opportunities and resource management goals.

The new access road to those future recreation and open space facilities runs south off Larimer County Road 18E, also known as Pole Hill Road, up to the west side of the reservoir. The new bridge – made up of 14 concrete sections that each weigh 52,000 pounds – was manufactured off-site by ConTech Engineered Solutions. Sterling Crane, the subcontractor hired by Barnard Construction Co. Inc., safely set and installed the bridge in one day, demonstrating well planned and executed construction. In addition, the intersection of the new access road and LCR 18E will be upgraded to include dedicated turn and merge lanes to improve safety and reduce local traffic impacts.  

The C-BT Project’s Bald Mountain Penstocks that the new bridge crosses have been a fixture in the Chimney Hollow valley for decades, delivering supplemental water to more than 600,000 acres of irrigated farmland and more than 1 million C-BT and Windy Gap Project water users in Northeastern Colorado since 1957.

This 2-minute video provides an up-close view of the recent bridge install and features interviews with Northern Water’s Mike Fiscus and Jeremy Deuto.

Water Efficiency Stakeholders Meeting Set for April 22

Northern Water will host its annual Water Efficiency Stakeholders meeting from 9 a.m. to noon on Friday, April 22.

The Stakeholders meeting will showcase results and stories of the 2021 Water Efficiency Program and to preview 2022 services. The first half of the meeting will highlight 2021 achievements, preview 2022 services and provide opportunities for feedback to help Northern Water identify the need for future water efficiency services. In the final hour attendees will learn how landscapes provide respite, peace and hope during war and today amidst the pandemic from a special keynote speaker Dr. Kenneth Helphand on Defiant Gardens: Making Gardens in Wartime.

Learn more and register on our website.

Northern Water's Greg Dewey leads a round of the "Incredible Edible Aquifer" game during a children's water festival in Loveland.

From The Archives: The Launch of Local Children's Water Festivals

In April 1991, representatives of Central Colorado Water Conservancy District brought a good idea to the region: making water supply, water quality and water management information a part of the educational landscape for elementary school students.

One year later, Northern Water sponsored its first children’s water festival in Fort Collins, opening the way for festivals throughout the region. During those festivals, attendees would learn important lessons about water scarcity, water quality and the efforts necessary to bring water to Northeastern Colorado residents.

Since their creation, water festivals have brought lessons to tens of thousands of children throughout the region. Northern Water continues to support these water education efforts for future generations.

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