The Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District has revised the plan for the Northern Integrated Supply Project (NISP), in order to provide a larger flow of water in the Cache la Poudre River as it flows through Fort Collins. The project is waiting for approval by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The most controversial part of the project is the creation of a new reservoir (Glade) northwest of Fort Collins.
The new plan would include releasing 14,000 acre-feet of water a year from Glade Reservoir into the Poudre for a 12-mile stretch through the city, then capturing it again at the “Timnath Inlet” near East Mulberry Street west of Interstate 25 through a pumping station and pipeline that would carry it south to Northern Water’s Southern Water Supply Project, which serves communities from Broomfield to Fort Morgan.
Brian Werner, Northern Water’s communications manager, said the “refined conveyance” plan was designed to help allay opponents’ fears that NISP would limit recreational opportunities on the river as it flows through Fort Collins.
The revised plan also eliminates a proposed pipeline from Horsetooth Reservoir, west of Fort Collins, into the NISP system, which is another response to public concerns. Werner said the revisions would cost an additional $30 to $40 million.
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