Northern Water history

Construction of the Alva B. Adams Tunnel began on June 23, 1940.

The first interim water deliveries from the C-BT Project began in 1947.

June 1, 1953 - Following the death of Charles Hansen, Greeley Tribune editor and first Northern Water Board president, Northern Water began looking for a new headquarters location close to C-BT Project features and Reclamation’s new office southwest of Loveland.

Reclamation declared the project to be substantially complete in 1957, the first year of full water deliveries.

The Windy Gap Project’s origins stretch back to the summer of 1967 when Longmont Mayor Ralph Price filed for water rights on the Colorado River.

In 1969, the participants realized that the work and expertise needed to build Windy Gap Project required a stronger organization than they could provide independently.

The carriage contract was executed in October 1973 and is crucial for the Windy Gap Project.

A contractor repaints the Big Thompson Siphon, the structure’s first new coat of paint since it was replaced following the 1976 Big Thompson flood.

Windy Gap construction officially began with a groundbreaking ceremony on July 11, 1981, following nearly 17 years of planning and negotiations.

Despite a flood at the pumping plant in 1983 and a shutdown for archaeological investigations, the project was completed within four years at a total cost of approximately $120 million.

After a testing period the Windy Gap Project was ready to operate the spring of 1985.

1991 Northern Water begins preliminary design work on the Southern Water Supply Project pipeline to deliver C-BT and Windy Gap water from Carter Lake to cities and towns year-round.

By 1993 municipalities own more than half of C-BT Project units.

June 18, 1994 - Officials renamed the Granby Pump Plant in honor of the Farrs, a prominent Weld County farm and ranching family.

1996 Following repairs, Reclamation personnel test and ready the Flatiron Pump Plant Unit No.3.

Water storage levels in the C-BT Project reach an all-time high; more than 200,000 acre-feet above average and 20 percent greater than the previous record set in 1997.

2000 Regional water providers meet at Northern Water to discuss a potential collaborative project.

June 17, 2002 - The United States Bureau of Reclamation marked its 100th anniversary with a celebration at Hoover Dam on the Colorado River near Las Vegas, Nevada.

2004 Formal Environmental Impact Statement permitting process begins with the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers serving as the lead federal agency.

Adopted by the Board in 2005, the Regional Pool Program provides greater flexibility and to preserve some C-BT water supplies for irrigated agriculture.

Sustained drought hits northeastern Colorado until 2006, resulting in agricultural water shortages and municipal water use restrictions.

Completed in March 2008, the project includes a three-tiered intake tower, an 800-foot-long tunnel and several hundred feet of pipeline.

Beginning on September 9, 2013, a slow-moving cold front stalls over Colorado and clashes with warm humid monsoonal air from the south, resulting in heavy rain and catastrophic flooding along Colorado's Front Range.

June 3, 2016 - Northern Water dedicated the Granby Hydropower Plant at the base of Granby Dam.