(The Center Square) – A federal judge on Sunday allowed for a stay on her own opinion to halt construction on a reservoir that provides water for the Denver metro area, allowing the project to continue for two weeks.
The Gross Reservoir Expansion Project can continue during that window as Denver Water, which owns and manages the reservoir near Boulder, awaits a 10th Circuit Court of Appeals decision, Colorado Politics first reported.
U.S. District Court Judge Christine M. Arguello on Thursday issued a preliminary injunction halting further construction, citing violations of federal law when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers approved the project.
According to Denver Water, which appealed the injunction ruling last week, the $531 million project is 60% complete. It planned on resuming work on the project for the season on April 10.
“We view this decision as a radical remedy that should raise alarm bells with the public, not only because of its impacts to water security in an era of longer, deeper droughts, catastrophic wildfire and extreme weather, but because it serves as an egregious example of how difficult it has become to build critical infrastructure in the face of relentless litigation and a broken permitting process,” the agency said in a statement on Friday. “In this case, the order is even more appalling with the project so deep into construction.”
Denver Water added that not continuing construction “creates ongoing safety and water supply issues,” which Arguello acknowledged in the stay ordered on Sunday.
Denver Mayor Mike Johnston called the ruling to halt expansion “deeply concerning” in a statement Friday.
“Denverites, businesses and visitors depend on reliable, clean and safe drinking water every day,” he said. “The completion of Denver Water’s Gross Reservoir Expansion Project means that Denver and its surrounding communities will have the necessary water security for years to come.”
The initial lawsuit against the project was filed in 2018 by environmental organizations Save The Colorado, The Environmental Group, WildEarth Guardians, Living Rivers, the Waterkeeper Alliance and the Sierra Club.
