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Originally Posted by Matt
Denver has really been hazy lately, but alas...
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Originally Posted by BG918
And yes it’s been really hazy in Denver lately. And bone dry. The monsoon was basically non-existent this summer I’m worried about fire danger heading into the fall.
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It has been a funky, crazy summer on a number of fronts... but sticking with the climate/weather, partly it's that time of year.
Interestingly, Phoenix recently experienced the hottest July on record. Yesterday, Phoenix set a new record for number of days of 110 degrees or higher. We're getting a one day break before it's back over 110 degrees for the foreseeable future (week to ten days).
This summer has also been unique for its total lack of monsoonal rain storms in Phoenix. Generally, the SW and inter-mountain region including Colorado has seen little rain. The drought maps are flashing.
The most important development decision recently was outside of the Denver metro
Photo credit: Grace Hood/CPR News
Boulder County’s Gross Reservoir Can Proceed With Expansion Following Lawsuit
July 17, 2020 By Corey H. Jones/CPR
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Federal officials have given the go-ahead to expand Gross Reservoir in Boulder County. That means Denver Water has overcome a huge hurdle in its effort to increase storage capacity. Gross Reservoir provides water to 1.5 million Front Range customers.
“Expanding Gross Reservoir is a critical project to ensure a secure water supply for nearly a quarter of the state’s population,” Denver Water CEO Jim Lochhead said in a statement. “The project provides the system balance, additional storage and resiliency needed for our existing customers as well as a growing population.”
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Not unlike with the "Central 70" project of I-70 the environmental whack jobs have cost Denver taxpayers or in this case Denver Water payers, lots and lots of money from both the expensive process demands of endless red tape PLUS the cost of construction going up, up and away in the interim.
IIRC the Denver Water Board originally anticipated construction starting in 2012, then 2014.
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It’s been a long road for the utility, which began the permitting process for the expansion seventeen years ago. Denver Water plans to finish the design next year, followed by four years of construction.
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For those unfamiliar, the Denver Water Board spent years negotiating with the Western Slope (including all the environmental groups) before coming to a very comprehensive agreement for both protections and for improvements on the Western Slope.
https://www.denverwater.org/your-wat...tive-agreement
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The Colorado River Cooperative Agreement is effective, as of Sept. 26, 2013, with signatures of all 18 partners complete.
The agreement ushers in a new era of cooperation between Denver Water and West Slope water providers, local governments and several ski areas. The overall goal of the agreement is to protect watersheds in the Colorado River Basin while allowing Denver Water to develop future water supplies.
The agreement is the result of more than five years of negotiations and creates a spirit of cooperation instead of litigation over water resources.
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Except environmental groups payed little mind to this agreement and did their usual senseless lawsuits against anybody they could think to name. And just like with Central 70, it was a big waste of time and resources while construction costs continued to escalate.