The $464-million expansion of a Colorado dam near Boulder moved a step closer to construction when a federal judge dismissed environmental groups' legal claim that three federal agencies that approved the project violated federal law. Judge Christine Arguello said March 31 that the US district court in Colorado did not have jurisdiction to hear the case because of the project's order to proceed from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
Expansion of the Gross Reservoir dam near Boulder, Colo., will raise its height by 131 ft to 471 ft, allowing it to nearly triple in size. When complete, the reservoir will be capable of holding about 119,000 acre-ft of water. The structure was built in 1954. Utility Denver Water is expanding the reservoir to address a known imbalance in the city’s drinking water system, which supplies 1.4 million people, one-quarter of the state population.