June 13, 2024

Employee Spotlight: Jeff Drager

Northern Water’s Director of Engineering Jeff Drager has been a longtime face to the Chimney Hollow Reservoir Project, having served as the Project Manager since the project’s conception in 1995. Early on, Drager was responsible for preliminary engineering studies and preparing for environmental permitting, including the permitting process which began in 2003 and concluded with the issuance of the final permits in 2021. At that time, Northern Water’s Joe Donnelly became the Principal Project Manager responsible for managing design and on-site construction, and Drager took on the role of Executive Sponsor, which entails budgeting and overseeing the project as a whole. Drager also continues to lead Northern Water’s west-slope mitigation and enhancement efforts for the Windy Gap Firming Project. 

“Seeing the construction after all these years of doing the permitting has been pretty exciting to me to be part of that process,” Drager said. “I’d like to think that I didn’t spend 28 years wasting my time, that I worked on a project that was important for the region, and for me personally, it’s just exciting to see it finally getting to be built after all that time.”  

Jeff Drager at Chimney Hollow

Drager admits the most challenging part was the permitting process, but construction has now taken on that title.  

“Design was relatively easy, but I’d say construction is hard. Right now, they’re spending over $1 million dollars a day, and if something goes wrong, it’s critical that you figure it out and get it fixed,” he said.  

The key to success on such a large and challenging project Drager says is to be flexible, open-minded and listen to other people, especially people who are opposed to or have issues with the project and be willing to work with them to develop solutions.  

As a Colorado native, Drager has degrees from Colorado State University and Stanford University. Aside from work, he enjoys spending time at his cabin in Red Feather Lakes with his family, road cycling, hiking and reading. He and his wife have two grown children, one who is a high school English teacher in Thornton and one who is a professor at the University of Missouri.  

When asked if he would miss Chimney Hollow once the project is complete, he said, “I probably will miss Chimney Hollow, I mean, it’s been a huge part of my life here. I have worked on a lot of other things while I’m here, but Chimney Hollow has been a huge part of it. But I only live a few miles from it, so I’ll probably go visit and enjoy it.”