ESTES PARK - As I walked the Lake Estes loop, practicing my quantum and neuroplasticity meditation (the process of reprogramming your brain for better health), I came across a sign: “Colorado-Big Thompson Project.” Curiosity struck, and I had to learn more.

The Colorado-Big Thompson Project is federally owned and managed by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. It was constructed between 1938 and 1957. It collects, stores, and delivers over 200,000 acre-feet of supplemental water yearly to eastern Colorado, one of the largest projects undertaken.

While snow melts into the Colorado River headwaters on the Western Slope, it is diverted to the east through a tunnel beneath the Continental Divide. This melted snow reaches “approximately 1,064,000 million residents and 615,000 acres of irrigated farmland in Northeastern Colorado.” 

Some water diverted from the Colorado River lands in the Green Mountain Reservoir, west of the Continental Divide. That water is distributed for agricultural, municipal, industrial, recreational, and environmental uses. 

East of the Continental Divide, water diverted from the Colorado River is provided to over one million people. The information I gleaned was interesting enough. I can see how and why this project could be beneficial—but questions that weren’t addressed left me wondering. 

If this trans-mountain project diverts water from the Colorado River to the plains, how is nature being affected? I took a moment to glance across the vastness of beautiful Lake Estes. Geese landed on the lake while anglers fished, distantly, in the Big Thompson River.

Lake Estes is a reservoir created as part of the Colorado-Big Thompson Project. So, what if the lake didn’t exist? Would the geese still land in this space? Would the Big Thompson River be what it is if it didn’t flow into and out of Lake Estes?

Why weren’t these questions being addressed in the information I found? I’m certain I’m not the only one concerned with the state of nature. The Colorado-Big Thompson Project became the quintessential definition of “bittersweet” to me. The project affects natural flow regimes, impacting ecosystems and water quality, while also creating reservoirs and supporting modern human survival and recreation.

I guess that’s why organizations like the Big Thompson Watershed Coalition exist. Their mission is not only to restore but to improve the ability of rivers and forests to withstand stressors in the Colorado Front Range. Maybe there is a balance between human and nature’s needs after all. 

But what about the wild creatures that rely on the water from the Colorado River and other sources? Not finding any answers or anyone to speak to, I was left with questions that led to more questions. With no answers, I felt abandoned, like the wild things roaming through our mountains that are often thought of last. 

I waited and waited for someone to return my emails and calls, to no avail. I returned to Lake Estes the next day for another attempt at my active meditation. This time, I focused on only the positive things around and within me, including how Lake Estes and the project make Colorado that much more beautiful. With that, I had to be, at least temporarily, satisfied.

Lake Estes rests between highways 34 and 36 in Estes Park. To learn more about the Colorado-Big Thompson Project visit https://www.northernwater.org/deliver-water/colorado-big-thompson-project or find them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/northernwater.