- While Greeley is fortunate to source its water from four large watersheds, major wildfires in these watersheds can create significant water quality and treatment challenges that persist for years after the fires are extinguished.
- The Cameron Peak fire in August 2020, located in the Poudre Canyon, grew into the largest wildfire in Colorado history. It burned over 208,000 acres and caused damage to two of four watersheds where Greeley receives its water supplies. The fire also affected the water supply of Fort Collins, Loveland, and several water districts that serve over one million people.
- The East Troublesome Fire, located west of Rocky Mountain National Park, started in October 2020. It burned over 193,000 acres, making it the second-largest wildfire in Colorado history. It damaged the other two watersheds where Greeley receives water supplies.
- In August 2024, the Alexander Mountain Fire burned almost 10,000 acres in the Big Thompson watershed west of Loveland.
- The 2020 wildfires continue to impact Greeley’s source watersheds, and future wildfires will inevitably restart the cycle of impact and recovery. Greeley is committed to addressing immediate post-fire effects, and we work hard each year to make our watersheds more resilient to future wildfires.
Wildfire Impacts Map
Immediately after a wildfire, intense heat decreases the soil’s ability to absorb snowmelt and rainfall, meaning more sediment from burned areas is washed into the rivers and reservoirs that supply Greeley’s water. Fire-effected runoff caused significant water quality impacts in 2021, with lower-level impacts in each subsequent year continuing through 2024. Poor water quality leads to higher water treatment costs. Sometimes, diminished water quality means Greeley can’t treat water at all. For example, there have been over 80 days since 2021 when Greeley staff could not treat water from the river because of high amounts of suspended matter in the water. The amount of untreatable water associated with those shutoffs totaled approximately 2,000 acre-feet of river water, or enough water to support about 7,500 homes for an entire year.
Mitigation Takes Time and Investment
- Greeley has and continues to work with the Coalition for the Poudre River Watershed and other water districts in Northern Colorado to complete over $31 million in wildfire impact mitigation efforts through 2023, including:
- Aerial mulching of almost 10,000 acres to protect soil from erosion
- Mitigation at three of Greeley’s reservoirs
- Localized hillslope stabilization in five areas along the Poudre River
- Four road repair and river restoration projects utilizing low-tech, process-based techniques
- State and federal grants have funded much of this work to-date. The Natural Resources Conservation Service Emergency Watershed Protection Program, the United States Forest Service, the National Forest Foundation, and the Colorado Water Conservation Board Watershed Protection Program have all assisted with these mitigation efforts. Greeley and partners have continued mitigation work in 2024 and have several projects lined up for 2025. Greeley remains committed as a vital partner and leader in repairing the damage from destructive wildfires while also looking to the future of pre-fire watershed health as a way to protect our water supplies.