Energy, Utilities & Water  January 11, 2021

Greeley City Council to discuss acquiring water rights at Terry Ranch

GREELEY — The city of Greeley may halt its yearslong efforts to expand its Milton Seaman Reservoir in the mountains and secure water-storage rights on the Terry Ranch property in northwest Weld County.

In presentation documents made public ahead of the council’s Tuesday night meeting, Greeley officials say they plan to tap into an underground aquifer below the property near the Colorado/Wyoming border and not only mine the existing water for purification but inject already clean water into the basin for storage.

The project would create space for 1.2 million acre-feet of water, enough to fulfill Greeley’s current water usage for 48 years.

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To pay for the project, the city plans to issue water rights credits to the water’s current owner, Wingfoot Water Resources LLC. In turn, Wingfoot would sell the credits to developers seeking to fulfill their raw water requirements for building within the city’s limits.

The project is estimated to cost $506 million by the year 2100.

In an interview with BizWest in December, Adam Jokerst, the city’s deputy director of water resources, said the Terry Ranch aquifer will also act as a reserve of water in cases of drought, or if water produced from the mountains is questionable in quality.

“When we get into droughts or periods of when we have fires, and in all four of our basins we’re not sure about water quality, this groundwater supply will be a fantastic backup,” he said.

While the city would continue to keep a potential expansion to Milton Seaman Reservoir on its radar, Jokerst said the city has already spent about $19 million in permitting costs over 15 years on the project and isn’t certain if it can secure the blessing of multiple federal, state and local authorities to build out that source of water.

The council is scheduled to only listen to and discuss the proposal and is not scheduled to take any vote on whether it is implemented. Staff expects to complete its due-diligence by early next month and present a sales contract to the council in March.

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GREELEY — The city of Greeley may halt its yearslong efforts to expand its Milton Seaman Reservoir in the mountains and secure water-storage rights on the Terry Ranch property in northwest Weld County.

In presentation documents made public ahead of the council’s Tuesday night meeting, Greeley officials say they plan to tap into an underground aquifer below the property near the Colorado/Wyoming border and not only mine the existing water for purification but inject already clean water into the basin for storage.

The project would create space for 1.2 million acre-feet of water, enough to fulfill…

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