Referendum petition to stop Terry Ranch Project fails to get enough signatures, City of Greeley to move forward

By Kelly Ragan

After a referendum petition seeking to stop the Terry Ranch Project failed to get enough signatures, the city is set to close on the aquifer and the 1.2 million acre-feet of water and storage that come with it. 

“Terry Ranch will go down as a historic purchase and decision as Colorado communities are confronted with how they service growth that is expected to come their way,” said Greeley Mayor John Gates in a news release. “With the Terry Ranch water, Greeley leaders, like our early pioneers, have leapt into the future to ensure our community will prosper and grow for generations.”

To overturn the council’s decision, the group opposing the move, Save Greeley’s Water, led by John Gauthiere, needed to come up with 2,200 signatures to force a special election, according to a news release by the city of Greeley. 

According to the Save Greeley’s Water website, the group turned in 2,028 by the deadline.

“We only had about three weeks to collect signatures, and in the midst of that three weeks we had a major and unusual snowstorm. The weather was not our friend,” according to the website. 

Gauthiere did say at city council Monday that he would be back with another effort, though he didn’t specify what that meant. 

What makes the Terry Ranch Project different?

Courtesy photo.

Terry Ranch is an underground, non-tributary aquifer – which means it’s not connected to a surface reservoir or stream – out north near the Wyoming border.

While aquifers are common throughout the U.S., this would be Greeley’s first. 

Water drawn from the aquifer is set to undergo a treatment plan that has been peer-reviewed and state-approved. 

During the city’s water quality investigation of Terry Ranch, it found naturally occurring uranium, which is common in many groundwater sources. 

“Uranium 238 is very different than what’s found in nuclear power plants,” said Adam Jokerst, the Deputy Director of Water Resources for the City of Greeley, at a previous city council meeting. “It’s naturally occurring and can be removed. We will remove it.” 

The city already treats the water it gets from the Poudre River and the Colorado Big Thompson for uranium, Jokerst said, and has been doing so for 100 years. 

The city also performed a 30-day pilot test to ensure it could successfully remove the uranium – and it passed. 

“I think Greeley is to be applauded for doing the hard work of putting that deal together,” said Jeff Stahla, spokesperson for Northern Water in an interview with the NoCo Optimist. 

Zooming out 

The Terry Ranch Project is part of an effort to have a long view on water. 

City officials and water experts agree that northern Colorado has a growing population and a finite regional water supply. 

“Water managers throughout northern Colorado recognize that people love living in northern Colorado and they’re going to keep coming here,” said Jeff Stahla, spokesperson for Northern Water in an interview with the NoCo Optimist. 

Other major northern Colorado water projects underway, such as the Northern Integrated Supply Project, or NISP, and the Windy Gap Firming Project, are aiming to address population growth as well, Stahla said.  

“We’re entering a time when all of the above is the solution,” Stahla said.

Underground water storage is a topic at the legislature this year, too. 

Sponsored by Sen. Jerry Sonnenberg and Rep. Richard Holtorf, HB21-1043, a.k.a. Study Underground Water Storage Maximum Beneficial Use (yes, that is a mouthful), calls for a study on underground water storage in Colorado.

The bill would direct the Department of Natural Resources to work with a Colorado university to work together on the study, which would aim to maximize the beneficial use of water by storing any excess surface flow in aquifers (like Terry Ranch) to use later. The price tag sits at a cool $155,000. 

• Some of the highlights of the study objectives include:

• Identifying aquifers with storage capacity 

• Identifying funds to pay for storage 

• Identifying specific storage projects

The bill was introduced Feb. 16, 2021 and is under consideration.