A federal judge Thursday ordered a halt to construction on what would have been Colorado’s tallest dam, rejecting arguments from Denver Water and the Army Corps of Engineers that the project must be completed despite “multiple serious environmental law violations.”
U.S. District Judge Christine Arguello ruled that work on raising the Gross Dam to a height of 471 feet must stop ahead of a hearing date on “what is reasonable and necessary to make the currently existing structure safe.” The hearing will occur in late April or early May.
She also issued a permanent injunction against work to expand the Gross Reservoir, “including tree removal, water diversion and impacts to wildlife.”
Denver Water, which serves 1.5 million individuals in the city and its suburbs, has spent decades planning the expansion of the Boulder County-based reservoir and dam.
