Abstract:

Northern Water serves supplemental water to the northern front range of Colorado cooperating with the U. S. Bureau of Reclamation in operation and maintenance of the Colorado-Big Thompson Project.  Northern Water about half of the water used in the larger cities, including Boulder, Longmont, Loveland, Fort Collins and Greeley, as well as providing water to smaller cities and agricultural interests in the area and along the South Platte River to the Nebraska border.  In addition to meeting daily water supply needs in the area, Northern Water is developing two large water projects to serve future growth in its service area and also takes a key role in developing and supporting environmental efforts related to impacts to endangered species in both the South Platte and Colorado River basins.  Jeff Drager, PE, Northern Water’s Director of Engineering, will discuss Northern Water’s operations, including:

• Northern’s role in meeting current water needs
• Platte River Recovery and Implementation Program
• Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish Recovery Program
• Development of large water resources projects, including Chimney Hollow Reservoir and Northern Integrated Supply Project
• Future water supply issues and engineering needs

Speaker Bio:

Jeff Drager is the Director of Engineering for Northern Water where he is responsible for managing the engineering division’s work, including design and construction management of improvements to the existing system and new projects.    Jeff has a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Colorado State University and a master’s in water resources engineering from Stanford University. He is a registered professional engineer in Colorado and California. Drager has worked at Northern Water since 1995 where he has worked on multiple projects and served as project manager for the Windy Gap Firming Project (Chimney Hollow Reservoir), which involved an 18-year NEPA/permitting process. He previously worked as a consulting engineer for 15 years at Freese and Nichols and Montgomery Watson, serving as project manager for water supply projects in Texas and California.