Reluctant Colorado Governor OKs Dam That Will Flood Scenic Area

Gov. Roy Romer on Friday reluctantly recommended a permit for a dam that would guarantee a water supply for the growing metropolitan area at the cost of flooding a scenic canyon.

“Colorado should build Two Forks, in my judgment, only as a last resort,” the governor said at a news conference.

The proposed Two Forks dam and reservoir southwest of Denver would flood Cheesman Canyon, which Romer would like to see preserved as a recreational area.

“I am challenging the state to find an alternate solution,” said Romer, who attached several conditions to his recommendation and said he favored building a smaller dam and reservoir at Estabrook.

Romer said the Two Forks permit was “an insurance policy” for metropolitan Denver, to be used only if other water sources and conservation proved insufficient, which he said is unlikely.

“We do not need to sacrifice that canyon in order to have water,” the governor said.

The dam project was proposed by the Denver Water Board and a consortium of 42 metropolitan area water providers and municipalities.

Proponents have portrayed the project as crucial to metropolitan growth. They project that the region’s population will grow from its present 1.5 million to 2.5 million by the year 2035, outstripping its supply of water.

Environmentalists and sportsmen say the project would needlessly wipe out 20 miles of trout fishing and recreation and would threaten whooping crane habitat and irrigators along the Platte River in Nebraska.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers must decide whether to issue a permit, and it is accustomed to considering a governor’s recommendation as an important factor.

The 615-foot-high dam and 300-foot-deep reservoir would be built downstream from the confluence of the South Platte River and its North Fork, about 25 miles southwest of Denver.