NISP project still in design phase, but wetlands project was just dedicated

LOVELAND — For years, many have wondered just when the Northern Integrated Supply project will even get started.

After all, permitting has been ongoing for 20 years, said Jeff Stahla, public information officer with Northern Water Conservancy District, at the organization’s Fall Water Symposium held Wednesday at the Embassy Suites by Hilton Loveland Conference Center.

“We’re in a period now where we’re working on design, and over the course of the next 12 months you’ll see a lot more substantial and completed designs coming from the project, which will allow us to come forward with projected construction times,” Stahla said. “But there’s a cone of uncertainty on that.”

NISP is a water-storage project that would include construction of Glade and Galeton reservoirs to store excess water from the Poudre River. NISP would supply 15 cities, towns and water districts in Northern Colorado with 13 billion gallons of water annually — enough for 80,000 families, according to the NISP website.

But there is some movement on the project in the form of wetland conservation in Windsor.

“Yesterday, we dedicated a new project that is part of the Northern Integrated Supply Project that relates to how we mitigate for wetlands. I’m excited to say we have something in the books already completed,” Stahla said.

Stahla showed a video to the group extolling the recreational virtues of the Eastman Park River Experience Phase II, which is nine acres of land for wetland mitigation, but also a recreational experience for residents. Crews broke ground on phase II of the project in 2023. Phase ll includes an additional parking lot, shelters, trail expansion, the installation of new Cache La Poudre River access points, a playground, landscaping and irrigation.

According to Wade Willis, open space and trails manager for the town of Windsor, the project “is showcasing right through the heart of Windsor, how we can be responsible stewards of that water. It really is a great partnership,” he said in the video.

In May, Northern Water reported that in addition to the design work occurring for Glade Reservoir, teams were working toward final design of the rerouted U.S. Highway 287 near the reservoir and the water conveyance pipelines that will bring water to the 15 communities and water providers that are participating in the project.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers approved the project in December 2022. Save the Poudre, an environmental group dedicated to preservation and restoration of the Cache la Poudre River, sued the agency in federal court in January 2024 to stop the project. That lawsuit is ongoing.

on Facebook on LinkedIn