From The Denver Post (Bruce Finley):
The $100 million project, intended to help sustain new growth in water-poor Denver suburbs, also will inundate 45 acres of cottonwood, willow and Russian olive groves in the park, destroying habitat for about 60 bird species. This has put the Audubon Society, Denver Field Ornithologists and other birder groups at the front of opposition to the project. “You take away all those trees, all those birds that nested in the trees aren’t going to be here,” said Joey Kellner, who coordinates Denver’s annual bird count…
“We want to make sure that the ecological benefits are captured — because there are losses,” [U.S. Army Corps of Engineers project manager Gwyn Jarrett] said. “We’re going to do as much on-site as possible. It’s imperative that the public be involved. It’s in (suburban water agencies’) interest to meet the environmental concerns, because that means less opposition.”[…]
…authorities say the dam is strong enough to hold an additional 20,600 acre-feet trapped from the South Platte and Plum Creek. That would bring the total capacity to about 48,000 acre-feet of water.
The additional water could sustain about 41,200 households…Colorado Water Conservation Board officials asked the Army Corps of Engineers to expand the reservoir on behalf of 15 metro water-user agencies. Residents who pay monthly water bills would have to pay the $100 million if the federal engineers approve the project. The South Metro Water Supply Authority and water suppliers in Castle Rock, Centennial and other suburbs currently rely heavily on groundwater wells that in some areas are running dry.