PRESS RELEASE: DENVER WATER’S “MOFFAT COLLECTION SYSTEM PROJECT” DELAYED AGAIN

For Immediate Release
November 6, 2015
Contact: Gary Wockner, Save The Colorado, 970-218-8310

DENVER WATER’S “MOFFAT COLLECTION SYSTEM PROJECT” DELAYED AGAIN

Denver, CO: Today the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers again delayed its “Record of Decision” for Denver Water’s “Moffat Collection System Project,” an extremely controversial scheme to further drain the Upper Colorado River, massively expand a dam in Boulder County, Colorado, and send more water to the sprawling Denver suburbs.

The notice is on the Corps’ website here: http://www.nwo.usace.army.mil/Missions/RegulatoryProgram/Colorado/EISMoffat.aspx

The new date for the decision is “2016,” which was just changed from “Fall of 2015.”

Over the last few months, Save The Colorado has been intensely bird-dogging the project. Over 700 Save The Colorado supporters sent emails to the Corps demanding that the Corps consider climate change in the permitting process, which the Corps so far has not.  Further, Save The Colorado sent a detailed technical analysis to the Corps pointing out that Denver Water doesn’t even need more water. In fact, as Denver’s population has increased, their total water use has actually decreased.

“This river-destroying scheme is unnecessary and exorbitantly expensive,” said Gary Wockner, E.D. of Save The Colorado of the $350 million project. “Denver Water doesn’t even need the water and the Corps has not considered climate change in its analysis.”

Save The Colorado’ analysis sent to the Corps (here) included this graph of Denver Water’s actual water use:

Further, Denver Water’s CEO, Jim Lochhead, tweeted just yesterday the exact same information which exemplifies how the Moffat Project is unneeded:

“All over the Southwest U.S., water use is decreasing dramatically even as population grows,” said Wockner. “Denver Water needs to stop this wasteful, destructive project right now and focus on the cheap, easy, fast method to get more water — conservation.”

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