The City of Fort Collins is investing in a major Northern Colorado water project it opposed for more than 20 years, now citing the Northern Integrated Supply Project as a more affordable alternative to expanding Halligan Reservoir.
The city’s decision marks a shift in its approach to securing future water supplies, with plans to use a portion of the proposed Glade Reservoir to store water rights the city already holds.
Under the project, a portion of the existing U.S. Highway 287 could eventually be submerged as construction of the Glade Reservoir moves forward. The roadway would have to be moved east of the ridgeline to keep traffic flowing between Fort Collins and Laramie, Wyoming.
Nicole Poncelet-Johnson, the city’s One Water executive director, said Fort Collins determined that joining NISP offered a more practical path to expanding its water storage capacity…