|
Lake
Dillon Representative ProjectSince the late 1980s, WWE has maintained significant involvement in wide-ranging issues involving the Lake Dillon watershed. Lake Dillon is a large municipal supply reservoir located in the mountains of Summit County, roughly a one-hour drive west from Denver. The reservoir is surrounded by four major ski resorts and associated rapidly urbanizing communities. The reservoir is owned and operated by the Denver Water Department, which conveys Lake Dillon water via tunnels beneath the Continental Divide for use in the Denver metropolitan area. The reservoir is vital to both Denver and Summit County residents. Summit County is sustained primarily by the tourism industry, and the lake plays a key role in this regard. All parties agree that an important objective is to maintain excellent water quality in Lake Dillon. For approximately the past 20 years, the University of Colorado, Boulder, has conducted a comprehensive lake and watershed water quality-monitoring program. As a result, there is an excellent scientific understanding of the reservoir. The water quality data indicate that it is necessary to control phosphorus levels in the reservoir, in order to maintain the desirable trophic status. Consequently, Summit County has stringently regulated phosphorus in both municipal wastewater treatment plant discharges and stormwater runoff from developing areas. The private entity that has been most affected by phosphorus regulation is the ski industry, and, primarily, Keystone Resort. WWE has served as water quality engineer for Keystone since 1989. In this capacity, we have negotiated comprehensive, far-reaching agreements with Summit County, which specify that for every pound of phosphorus generated by new Keystone projects, there will be a corresponding pound reduction of phosphorus from existing sources in the watershed. An important element of these agreements that is frequently referenced in the national literature is "point-nonpoint" trading. In addition, Keystone has designed and constructed state-of-the-art stormwater quality management facilities to strictly minimize phosphorus in stormwater discharges. Water quality is a factor in almost all of the services that WWE provides. Some of the nation's preeminent authorities on water quality are members of the WWE staff. Jonathan Jones, for example, was the chairman and a principal author of the ASCE/WEF Manual of Practice for the Design and Construction of Urban Stormwater Management Systems. He has authored or peer reviewed numerous other national books on stormwater quality and serves as an advisor to the EPA on this topic. Wayne Lorenz, P.E., is the former national chairman of the Water Environment Federation's Non-Point Sources of Pollution Committee and author of a chapter in the Water Environment Federation's Urban Runoff Quality Manual. Water quality engineering is performed by WWE for a number of different purposes, including baseline water quality investigations, pollution studies, and determination of the suitability of a surface water supply for its proposed use. |
Scope of Services
Representative Clients
|
