Anderson is an engineer by trade, so he also enjoys seeing the project tie in with the rest of the Colorado-Big Thompson Project system and infrastructure. He is eager to see the physical reaction of the asphalt-core dam to water and compare the metrics to other dam projects he has worked on while at Barnard. 

According to Anderson, the most challenging parts of the project have been weather and finding local employees, especially after COVID. Anderson also noted other challenges that came along with the pandemic including prices of materials and supply chain, especially with the valves that are shipped from Germany.  

“The U.S. hasn’t built a lot of large dams in past years, but recently there has been a renaissance. What will be really interesting to see is if those supply chains get going again in the U.S. making it easier and less expensive to acquire valves and other materials that currently are shipped from overseas,” Anderson said.  

Anderson spends his free time enjoying the outdoors, especially hunting, hiking and fishing. He grew up in Boulder and has learned a lot about the complexity of water on the Front Range since joining the Chimney Hollow Reservoir Project. He looks forward to seeing the valve house commissioned and the first water flow into the new reservoir. Anderson appreciates being part of a “once in a lifetime project that will last for generations.”