Oct. 9, 2024

Employee Spotlight: Rachel Stevens

When a handful of people emerged from the water delivery tunnel on the right abutment of Chimney Hollow Reservoir earlier this year, they knew they had seen something historic. For the first time in decades, a group saw a “holing through” of a tunnel to deliver water to and from the reservoir for communities throughout Northern Colorado, and it was special. 

Rachel Stevens was there to document the occasion. 

Stevens, the Northern Water communications specialist at Chimney Hollow, has been chronicling those occasions and more throughout the course of construction, but she doesn’t lose sight of the magnitude of the project – or her role in conveying its progress to a large audience. 

“When we walked out of the tunnel, Heather Banks (chair of the Windy Gap Participants Committee and senior manager for fuels and water at Platte River Power Authority) said to me, ‘Wow! That was really cool,’” Stevens said. “It gave me chills.” 

Rachel Stevens in PPE in front of main dam at Chimney Hollow

Stevens, a native of Fort Collins, earned her undergraduate and master’s degrees from the University of Wyoming. After working in the private sector following her graduation, she knew she wanted to use her skills to educate people on subjects that make a difference in people’s lives. She chose public utilities, working for the City of Fort Collins before joining Northern Water in 2022. 

“Northern Water is an integral part of the water supply that allows us to live in Northern Colorado,” she said. “The work that Northern Water does to make sure that we have a reliable water source for the East Slope is one of a kind.”  

On most days, you can find her at the Chimney Hollow construction site, gathering video clips, conducting interviews, leading tours and helping to ensure future generations will know about the work. One of those in the next generation, her 1-year-old son, arrived to her and her husband during construction and will have a full record of the work.  

“It’s not often you find yourself in a position where you can see a reservoir being built, and not only do I get to see it being built, but I also get to say I worked on the project. What a dream,” she said.