MWH, now part of Stantec, a global engineering, consulting and construction firm, has been awarded an $11.9-million engineering services contract to design the Chimney Hollow Reservoir project, a 90,000-acre-ft reservoir.

The dam will be located near Loveland, Colo., and managed by the Municipal Subdistrict, Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District.

MWH will provide a detailed design for a 360-ft-tall dam, spillway and outlet works. When it’s complete, Chimney Hollow will be the largest dam built in Colorado in 50 years.

The Chimney Hollow Reservoir will be located on the west side of Carter Lake and will provide much-needed water storage to meet the needs of growing populations of Northern Colorado communities, including Broomfield, Longmont, Loveland, and  Greeley. 

The subdistrict estimates that its communities could see a water supply shortage of 64,000 acre ft, or around 29 billion gallons, by 2030. In a recent survey, MWH found that nearly half of Americans (48%) say not having easy, low-cost access to water is an issue facing U.S. communities.

The design for the Chimney Hollow Reservoir Project is expected to be done in 2018, with construction completed in 2021. The engineering services provided by MWH will include evaluating alternatives, final design and support during bidding.

“With many of our employees based in northern Colorado, we are committed to long-term planning for future water needs that make an impact in our own backyard,” said Mario Finis, Waterpower and Dams business leader.