Aftermath

Aftermath Sessions Discuss Impacts of Wildfires

Assessing our Watersheds and Launching our Recovery

In fall 2020, the two largest wildfires in Colorado history burned hundreds of thousands of forested acres in Northern Colorado. The region’s water users may face years of uncertainty regarding the quality and quantity of native supplies, as well as water from the Colorado-Big Thompson and Windy Gap projects. This is truly a watershed moment.

In December 2020, Northern Water launched a series of "Aftermath" webinars that will discuss the impacts of the year’s consequential fires: Cameron Peak, East Troublesome, Calwood and Left Hand, and how these consequential fires may relate to the availability of regional water supplies in 2021 and beyond.

Aftermath #1 

The first Aftermath session was on Dec. 9, 2020 via Zoom webinar. 

Presentations included: 

• Brad Wind, General Manager, Northern Water
• Esther Vincent, Environmental Services Division Director, Northern Water
• Lee MacDonald, Professor at Colorado State University
• Christina Burri, Watershed Scientist at Denver Water
• Jen Kovecses, Executive Director of the Coalition for the Poudre River Watershed 
• Greg Dewey, Project Manager, Northern Water

Aftermath #2 

The second Aftermath session was on March 9, 2021 via Zoom webinar. The past few months have allowed local stakeholders to talk about the structure for recovery planning and implementation. Local water providers have also heard basin-specific options for water deliveries in 2021 and beyond. 

Presentations included:

• Esther Vincent, Environmental Services Division Director, Northern Water
• Joe Donnelly, Project Manager, Northern Water
• Brian Craig, Associate Water Resources Engineer, Northern Water
• Stephanie Cecil, Water Resources Project Engineer, Northern Water
• Kyle Whitaker, Water Rights Department Manager, Northern Water
• Luke Shawcross, Water Resources Department Manager, Northern Water
• Jen Stephenson, Water Quality Monitoring and Compliance Coordinator, Northern Water

Aftermath #3 

The third Aftermath session was on June 16, 2021 via Zoom webinar. We are well into runoff season so we provided updates about post-fire considerations for water supply and water quality planning, as well as highlight projects being implemented in the burn areas. 

Presentations included:

• Water Supply and Operation Update - Luke Shawcross, Water Resources Department Manager, Northern Water
• Water Quality Monitoring and Coordination - Jen Stephenson, Water Quality Monitoring and Compliance Coordinator, Northern Water 
• EWP Projects Overview - Jonathon Hernandez, Wildfire Recovery Manager, Northern Water 
• Hillslope Erosion Control Project - Curtis Hartenstine, Water Quality Department Manager, Northern Water 
• Fire Recovery Resources Center - Kyle Whitaker, Water Rights Department Manager, Northern Water 
• Post Fire Recovery Funding Update - Esther Vincent, Environmental Services Division Director, Northern Water 
• CWCB Post Fire Restoration Grant Request - Kimberly Mihelich, Source Water Protection Specialist, Northern Water

Aftermath #4

Given the recent increase in COVID-19 cases throughout the region, Northern Water elected to convert its planned West Slope Fire Tour to a virtual webinar on Sept. 21, 2021 that highlighted East Troublesome Fire recovery efforts. The webinar was designed for water users to learn more about the recovery efforts from the East Troublesome Fire that swept through Grand County in October 2020. Presentations included an overview of where we are one year later, cleanup efforts to our existing Colorado-Big Thompson Project infrastructure and a review of the projects we have completed thus far.

Presentations and videos included:

• Overview video of fire recovery efforts
• Heavy Civil & Debris Removal - Landon Shaw, Project Engineer, Northern Water
• Debris Booms and video - Stephanie Cecil, Project Engineer, Northern Water 
• Aerial Mulching Treatments and video - Curtis Hartenstine, Water Quality Department Manager, Northern Water 
• Water Quality Update - Maggie Spangler, Associate Water Quality Engineer, Northern Water 
• Future Projects and Funding Update - Esther Vincent, Environmental Services Division Director, Northern Water 
• Cameron Peak Fire Update - Adam Jokerst, Deputy Director, Water Resources, City of Greeley