Terry Ranch Water Quality

Greeley assembled a team of engineering experts to assure us, and our residents of the safety of this water. We tested groundwater quality, the impacts of mixing surface water with groundwater and the aquifer materials; confirming pumping rates; and assessed environmental conditions including wetlands, endangered species. It is essential that the city ensures the Terry Ranch Property water is safe for use and we used every possible test to make sure this water is a good investment. To date, the city has collected well over 7,000 water quality data points and analyzed the water for over 575 contaminants.  The results of these studies show the water is safe, we can remove contaminants, as we do for all of our water sources, and we will have a stable and safe storage for years to come.

Read the Fluid Compatibility study here

Testing shows Terry Ranch water tastes excellent. Greeley has some of the best tasting water in the country despite sometimes having relatively poor-quality raw (untreated) water sources, such as from Boyd Lake. Greeley treats and blends Boyd Lake water in a variety of ways to improve taste. Similarly, Greeley will have the ability to treat and blend Terry Ranch water to achieve consistently great tasting water.

Terry Ranch groundwater is excellent quality. It does, however, contain small amounts of naturally occurring uranium. Uranium is wide-spread in groundwater in Colorado and the western U.S. Uranium can be fully treated, and Greeley will remove the uranium from the groundwater before delivering the water to Greeley. 

Removing uranium is a common practice in water. There are proven technologies for uranium removal in water. In fact, Greeley’s current water sources contain low levels of uranium, which are removed through existing treatment plants.  The city operated a small water treatment plant on the Terry Ranch water over 30-days and proved conclusively the uranium can be removed. The city can and will clean the water to the high standards citizens have come to expect.  No Greeley customer will receive water with detectable uranium.

Uranium treatment is commonplace, and there are many proven systems that remove uranium from water.  Like Greeley’s two existing treatment plants, the Terry Ranch treatment system will be designed with redundancy; it will have two treatment systems in a row and a backup system on reserve.  Greeley routinely tests the performance of its treatment plants by taking water quality samples throughout its water system.  Also, as part of diligence, the city operated a small treatment system to treat Terry Ranch water over 30 days.  The system removed uranium to below detection.