Community Impact Mitigation Fund Payments
Residents directly affected by the Denver Water Gross Reservoir Expansion Project will be considered for impact mitigation payments in two phases. Phase I payments were distributed in 2023 and 2024 based on the full 7-year community impacts from the Gross Reservoir Expansion Project. Phase 2 payments will be determined based on projected impacts from the two-year tree removal operations beginning in 2026.
Phase I Payments – Completed
Boulder County completed the first round* of payments from Section 2. “Reduce Impacts to Residents” of the Denver Water Settlement Agreement on April 30, 2024. See Gross Reservoir Community Impact Mitigation Fund Phase I Distribution Report for full payment details.
Phase II Payments – Pending
Conversations with Denver Water staff indicate that the tree removal phase of the Gross Dam construction project will not begin until 2026. Originally planned to start in the fall of 2025, Denver Water amended the tree removal plan in the fall of 2024. Proposed changes to the plan were submitted to FERC for approval.
Denver Water has not identified a contractor to produce an operational plan/schedule for removing trees. Once Boulder County has a better idea of when (and how) Denver Water’s plan will be implemented, the county will begin recruiting community members to serve on a working group similar to the Gross Reservoir Community Working Group that was formed to advise Boulder County on the Phase 1 distribution payments.