Latest news with #NorthernWater
CBS News
2 days ago
- Business
- CBS News
Uranium discovered in Colorado's Chimney Hollow Dam, the largest built in United States in 20 years
Just weeks before completion of construction, Northern Water has confirmed uranium has been discovered at the site of the Chimney Hollow Reservoir and Dam. The project, which is expected to serve more than 1 million Colorado residents, has been in the making for decades. CBS For many, uranium is typically associated with nuclear weapons and power. The radioactive element was first detected at the end of 2024, however Northern Water was unable to determine the source of the uranium until recently. Now they know. It's coming from the rocks they used to build the 350-foot dam, which were mined from the very land they plan on flooding with water. "As we were building this dam, we were using rocks that were quarried on-site," said Jeff Stahla, spokesperson for Northern Water. CBS News Colorado's Dillon Thomas was taken into the project zone in 2024 where dozens of large trucks could be seen mining rock from the bottom of the future-reservoir. Trucks were moving more than 62,000 tons per day from the quarry to the dam. Now near-complete, the Chimney Hollow Dam is the fourth largest dam in Colorado and the largest built in the United States since the year 2000. Northern Water is now working with the Environmental Protection Agency to monitor the levels of uranium being detected. Stahla said the water supplier wanted to be transparent with the community as quickly as they could be. CBS "We are looking to be finished with construction in the next six weeks. As we started to consider filling the reservoir, we wanted to make sure the public was aware of some of the conditions we found and that we are going to address them," Stahla said. Northern Water currently plans to begin filling the reservoir in August. Stahla said the discovery of the uranium is not enough to derail the project. "The concern about uranium is not about radioactivity or things people often associate with uranium. But, it is from the standard of long term ingestion," Stahla said. Stahla said the company is considering their options moving forward. Those include treating the initial fill of the reservoir or allowing the water do naturally do the work for them. Citing the reservoir's eventual capacity of hundreds of billions of gallons of water, Stahla said there is a possibility the initial fill of the reservoir will wash the uranium off the dam and dilute it. Eventually, as water cycles in and out of the reservoir, the concern of the uranium may not longer be an issue. "It is a strong possibility that these mineral levels will decrease far below the standards set by the EPA," Stahla said. Northern Water said they will continue to monitor the uranium levels moving forward and will work with health agencies to assure the drinking water that will one day fill the reservoir will be safe for consumption.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Uranium at Chimney Hollow dam poses no risk to Longmont's water, city says
In response to an announcement by the Northern Water Conservancy District on Thursday morning that mineralized uranium was found during routine water quality sampling at the future site of Chimney Hollow Reservoir, the city of Longmont city released a statement late Thursday emphasizing that there is no risk to residents. The statement also notes that uranium-laden minerals are naturally found in Colorado's sedimentary rock layers. 'Northern Water said it is actively developing a mitigation plan to address this finding. These efforts are ongoing and will be fully implemented before any water is delivered from the reservoir,' city spokesman Scott Rochat said in an email. 'There is no impact to the City of Longmont's current water supply. City staff continue to monitor all municipal water sources to ensure the protection of public health and safety.' The statement encouraged residents to refer to the 2024 Drinking Water Quality Report for further information.
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Here's when Northern Water will start filling Chimney Hollow and its planned opening date
Water will start flowing into Chimney Hollow Reservoir 5 miles southwest of Loveland starting in early July, shortly after completion of what will become the fourth-largest dam in Colorado. Jeff Stahla, Northern Water spokesperson, said the reservoir will slowly be filled to 45,000 acre-feet, half of its 90,000 acre-feet total capacity, by the end of 2025 or early 2026. For comparison, Horsetooth Reservoir can hold a maximum of 156,735 acre-feet of water and Carter Lake 112,230. Crews are expected to complete the 350-foot-tall dam that stretches 3,700 feet long by mid- to late June, Stahla said. "We are filling it slowly so we can test for dam safety," Stahla said. Stahla said the reservoir is expected to be operational in 2027, which is when Larimer County plans to open its 1,847-acre Chimney Hollow Open Space next to the reservoir. The county unveiled its recreation management plan for the future open space, which includes hiking trails, parking lots and restrooms, boating and swimming in the reservoir and access to nearby Carter Lake. Chimney Hollow Reservoir is part of Northern Water's Colorado-Big Thompson system that moves water from west of the Continental Divide to east of the divide into Horsetooth and Carter reservoirs and soon Chimney Hollow. The water is used for agricultural irrigation, municipal drinking water and recreation. On-site construction of Chimney Hollow began in August 2021. Cost of the Chimney Hollow Reservoir project will be $584 million for construction and another $166 million for environmental mitigation, engineering and cost of the property, according to previous Coloradoan reporting. The $750 million tab will be picked up by the 12 entities that will receive 30,000 acre feet of water when it's up and running. Larimer County and Northern Water jointly purchased the 3,500-acre property on which the reservoir and open space are located in 2004 from the former Hewlett-Packard company. Cost was $3.8 million with nearly $1 million of that coming from Great Outdoors Colorado Lottery money. This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: When Chimney Hollow Reservoir will start filling, open to recreation
