After years of controversy, Chimney Hollow Reservoir nears completion
By Seth Boster | Denver Gazette
Back in 2009, Zac Wiebe was hiking near the foothills of northern Colorado, where today a dam rises close to its final height of 350 feet.
"I recall a sign that actually stated the reservoir could be built as soon as 2009," Wiebe said.
That would not be the case — not in the face of lengthy permitting and litigation against Chimney Hollow Reservoir, to be a smaller neighbor of Carter Lake and divert Colorado River water for the northern Front Range's growing populations. In 2021, environmental groups and Northern Water settled a $15 million lawsuit.
Now, Chimney Hollow's dam is close to complete outside Loveland. Northern Water expects to finish construction and begin filling the reservoir this summer.
And a recently published plan envisi...