Jul 9, 2008 7:30 pm US/Mountain
Denver Water Closes Dillon Dam Road Indefinitely
DILLON, Colo. (CBS4) ―
Denver Water officials indefinitely closed the road that crosses the top of Dillon Dam on Tuesday because of security concerns.
Officials said they received information from state and federal agencies over the past 7 to 10 days that forced it to close the road.
Water commissioner Penfield Tate said there's no known imminent threat to the Summit County dam. However he said the utility is concerned there would be "catastrophic consequences" if the dam was targeted in an attack.
The move angered Summit County officials, who weren't warned in an advance of the decision.
Denver Water owns Dillon Reservoir, which is a primary source for the metro area's water. Since the Sept. 11 attacks, the agency has spent $10 million to increase security at its facilities across the state.
"Having exhausted other options and still being uncomfortable with the level of risk, we consider road closure the action necessary to best protect the residents of Summit County as well as the water supply," Tate said.
The road is one of only three east-west roadways in the county and is frequently used by emergency vehicles.
"We only have three roads that run east-west across all of Summit County," said Rep. Christine Scanlan, D-Silverthorne. "It's completely inexcusable and it's arrogant."
"Denver Water yesterday took away one-third of our transportation ability," said Thomas Davidson, Summit County Commissioner.
"Yesterday, for the first time as sheriff, I met a commissioner from the Denver Water Board," said John Minor, Summit County Sheriff. "He came into our backyard and frankly dumped on us."
Lake Dillon Fire Chief Dave Parmley said he learned about the closure from a Denver television station. He said shutting down the road was the equivalent of shutting down a portion of Denver's Speer Boulevard without consulting with the city's fire department first.
"It's disrespectful and it's unacceptable," Parmley said.
Denver Water said they are working on a system that would allow emergency vehicles only to access and use Dillon Dam Road.
In the meantime, officials in Summit County may start looking for legal options to get the road back open.
Boats will also be required to stay away from roped-off areas.
Officials at Denver Water say building another road connecting the two sides of the dam without crossing the dam is a possible long-term solution.
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