VFW Honors in Voice of Democracy Contest
The Denver Water team working on Gross Dam is celebrating a successful year after
the dam raise was listed as “95 percent complete” at the end of last year.
said Jeff Martin, Denver Water’s program manager for the Gross Reservoir Expansion
Project. “We still have 22 feet left to go to reach the new height, and we’re on track to
reach that in 2026.”
The dam-raising portion of the $531 million Gross Reservoir Expansion Project
wrapped up for the season on Nov. 14, due to the drop in temperatures. The project,
which began in the spring of 2022, is designed to nearly triple Gross Reservoir’s water
storage capacity. While the dam is in Boulder County, some of the surrounding reser
voir property extends into Gilpin and Jefferson Counties, near the Coal Creek Canyon
neighborhood.
“We have to stop placing roller-compacted concrete when temperatures drop below
freezing,” said Casey Dick, deputy program manager for the Gross Reservoir Expansion
getting too cold. That’s because if the concrete freezes while it is still curing, it can lead
to a weakened final product.”
Work associated with the dam raise will resume in spring 2026, when the weather
warms enough to complete the final 22 feet. Once that work is complete, the dam will
be 471 feet tall, 131 feet higher than the original. The completed dam will also be longer
crest that stretches 2,040 feet across the canyon.
Last year marked the second year of construction on the dam raising at Gross. As of December
2025, workers had placed more than 730,000 cubic yards of concrete. To put that in perspective,
Empower Stadium at Mile High, where the Denver Broncos play their home football games,
Gross Dam so far.
Roller-compacted concrete is a special mix of concrete that allows crews to place it on the dam
and then spread it out. The concrete is firm enough to support machinery on top of it. The process
is a fast and efficient way to raise the dam. During construction, crews raised the height of the
dam by about 1 foot per day.
Commander Jacob Upchurch presented Halle Peiffer with her
first place award for her essay How are you showing patriotism
and support for our country at the Gilpin Recreation Center.
Photo by Gary King
Construction crews use GPS technology and survey equipment to monitor how high
they’ve raised the dam.
“The way we keep track of the elevation gain is that the bulldozers are equipped with
GPS-grade control technology, which ensures each layer of concrete is spread to the
correct thickness,” Dick said. “Once the concrete is rolled and vibrated into place, each
layer ends up 1 foot thick. It’s then checked by surveyors with their equipment to verify
the exact elevation.”
7563 awarded Halle Peiffer, a senior at Nederland High School,
first place at the local-post level in the Veterans of Foreign Wars
Voice of Democracy essay contest. Peiffer received a certificate and
Work isn’t completely stopping this winter.
Mechanical and piping work will be performed inside the dam, and crews will build a stilling
basin at the base of the dam. The basin’s function is to slow the flow of water from the dam’s
spillway and safely redirect it into South Boulder Creek.
Post 7563 Commander Jacob Upchurch praised Peiffer’s essay
on this year’s topic, How are you showing patriotism and support
calling it “outstanding and a breath of fresh air to
read.”
“This season was a huge success, and our team met a ton of challenges in raising Gross
faced wildfire safety operation challenges that shut down our power supply up here.
Despite those setbacks, the dedicated team of 500 men and women rose to the challenge.
I’d just like to thank everybody who committed themselves to this project and helped us
make 2025 a success.”
–
tional scholarship programs sponsored annually by the VFW. Essay
shared locally by Post 7563 through its Facebook page and flyers
distributed to area schools in Gilpin County and Nederland.
The Voice of Democracy contest is open to students in grades
9 through 12. Local post winners advance to district competition,
then state, and finally the national level. The national winner re
ceives a $35,000 scholarship, which may be applied toward tuition
at any accredited college, university or trade school.
The Patriot’s Pen contest is open to students in grades 6 through
8. At the local level, VFW Post 7563 awards a $250 prize, while the
national Patriot’s Pen winner receives a $5,000 scholarship.
Gross Dam expansion in 2025 from Denver Water.
Photo courtesy Denver Water.
