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8/13/22: Breakfast at Bear Creek- Fourteen elected officials and candidates, along with some 200 SaveBCLP supporters, gathered for an update on the Feasibility Study, prize raffles, and guided and self-guided tours of the potential inundation area.
4/25/22: The City of Lakewood unanimously approved a Proclamation Supporting Save Bear Creek Lake Park! This is an important milestone, but we must keep working to persuade the Corps of Engineers and the Colorado Water Conservation Board to preserve our Park. Read the Proclamation here: https://savebearcreeklakepark.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Proclamation-SaveBCLP-1.pdf
4/19/2022: The Town of Morrison Board of Trustees unanimously approved a Resolution opposing a significant reallocation of the Bear Creek Reservoir. Read the Resolution here: https://savebearcreeklakepark.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Morrison-Resolution-Opposing-a-Significant-Reallocation-of-Bear-Creek-Reservoir.pdf
Watch the recording from the 10/14/21 Scoping Meeting here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCHan_Dy5bc Chris Fassero (USACE) presented 19 slides and introduced the reallocation/expansion proposal. Then the public was invited to comment. Thanks to the hosts, the meeting was extended until past 9:00 PM so that everyone who wanted to speak had the opportunity. The public overwhelmingly opposed a 20,000 AF increase.
Read the chat log from the 10/14/21 Scoping Meeting here: https://dnrweblink.state.co.us/CWCB/0/edoc/215503/20211014_Bear_Creek_Reallocation_Study_Public_Scoping_Mtg_Chat_Record.pdf
View the presentation slides from the 10/14/21 Public Scoping Meeting here (201 people attended): https://dnrweblink.state.co.us/CWCB/0/edoc/215501/20211013_Bear_Creek_Agency_Public_Scoping_Mtg.pdf
9/7/21- The first Public Scoping Meeting will be on October 14 at 6:00 PM. Project representatives will describe alternatives under consideration and allow public comment. You can call in or attend the meeting via computer. Meeting information and link can be found at: https://cwcb.colorado.gov/events/public-scoping-bear-creek-lake. Hope to “see” you there.
8/19/2021: The Colorado Water Conservation Board and the Army Corps of Engineers have decided to move forward with the Bear Creek Lake Feasibility Study. The Study will consider increasing the size of the Bear Creek Lake Reservoir from 2000 acre feet to 22,0000 acre feet, which would have serious negative impacts on the BCLP. Steps in the Feasibility Study process (3 years) are as follows:
1. Sign Feasibility Cost Share Agreement (Done) – August 2019
2. Revise Army Corps Project Management Plan
3. Complete Yield Analysis and Hydrology Analysis
4. Engage Stakeholders prior to public scoping
5. Public Scoping Meetings
6. Alternatives Milestone Meeting
7. Tentatively select Plan
8. Draft Report Released for Public Review
9. Public Review Meetings
10. Agency Decision Milestone
11. Final Feasibility Report
12. Chief’s Report Signed
Here is the current Project Management Plan, which is in the process of being revised: https://savebearcreeklakepark.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Bear-Creek-Reservoir-Lakewood-Colorado-Reallocation-Study.pdf
4/08/2021: The Army Corps of Engineers recently completed a Semi-Quantitative Risk Assessment of the Bear Creek Dam in order to determine viability of proceeding with the Reallocation (expansion) of the Bear Creek Reservoir. A Memorandum from the Corps titled Bear Creek Dam Periodic Assessment 01 Update summarizes the assessment here: https://savebearcreeklakepark.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/SQRA-Memo-USACE-12082020.pdf
Two alternatives were considered: 10,000 acre-feet and 20,000 acre-feet of additional storage. Neither alternative was determined to be risk-neutral, and both would result in increased flood risk. The consequences of a dam failure would be high, but the abbreviated study maintains that the risk is below tolerable limits. However, the Risk Management Center (RMC) Director cautioned that significant infrastructure investments would be required to mitigate risk. Further, the RMC called out “the risk of undertaking a reallocation study that may recommend trading flood risk management benefits for water supply benefits.” Dam safety issues led to the initial suspension of the Reallocation Study in 2019, as the Colorado Water Conservation Board did not want to expend state dollars without reasonable assurance that the project would not be precluded by flood risk. The recent assessment does not completely alleviate such concerns, and the infrastructure cost of mitigating the risk will surely be a factor as well. Nevertheless, the official Feasibility Study has NOT been cancelled. I will let you know as soon as I find out when it will begin in earnest. Hopefully, by the time they begin, public hearings will be able to be held in person.
2/11/21: The Feasibility Study (Bear Creek Lake Reallocation Study) has been delayed again as more work needs to be done on hydrology. I don’t have an updated timeline, but it could be a few months or more. I welcome this news, because when the Reallocation Study begins in earnest, it will include a public engagement process. The public is much more likely to participate if meetings can be held in-person, after pandemic restrictions have eased. Please continue to share this website with others so that when public hearings begin, we’ll have a large group of informed people to advocate for the future of the Bear Creek Lake Park.
1/28/21: The Army Corps of Engineers has been working with the Colorado Dam Safety Team around updating hydrology at the site. The Special Projects Coordinator at the Department of Natural Resources is predicting that the Feasibility Study (aka Bear Creek Lake Reallocation Study) for the project will begin in earnest in February.
11/14/20: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has completed the Semi-Quantitative Risk Assessment and concluded they can move forward with the formal Reallocation Study. This study is expected to span three years and will determine whether or not the reservoir will be expanded and by how much. This is the same process that was suspended in October of 2019. Now it looks to be moving forward. However, the Corps and the State Engineers Office of Dam Safety need to discuss updated hydrology methodology before launching into the study. I will make the risk assessment report available on the Information Page when it is released to the public. Public hearings will be held, but those dates have not been set. I’ll post them when they become available and will email folks who signed up to receive updates. Be sure to check your spam/junk folders and mark emails from this site as “not junk” so they’ll come to your inbox.
10/9/20: Results of the Semi-Quantitative Risk Assessment (completed by the Army Corps of Engineers) are expected to be available in mid to late October. Conclusions of the study will determine whether the project continues into the formal feasibility study phase. If it moves forward, the public will have opportunities to participate/comment. I will post more information as it becomes available.