Standley Lake Regional Park History

Standley Lake Regional Park is a 3,000- acre park located in unincorporated Jefferson County.  The main entrance is located at 100th Avenue and Simms Street.  The water rights for Standley Lake Reservoir are owned by FRICO (Farmers Reservoir and Irrigation Company) and the surface recreation rights have been leased to the City of Westminster for use as a recreation area since 1970.  There is an Intergovernment Agreement (IGA), which governs the water use and is managed by the Standley Lake Operations Committee (SLOC).  The members of the SLOC committee are comprised of officials from the City of Westminster, the City of Northglenn, the City of Thornton, Jefferson County and FRICO.

LAKE and DAM

The Dam and Reservoir were constructed in the 1909-1919.  The dam, which is one mile long, is private FRICO property and is off-limits to the public.  The reservoir covers approximately 1,100 surface acres, with adjoining land covering an additional 2,000 acres.  42,000 acre-feet of water can be stored when full, with a maximum depth of 96 feet at the dam face.  Ninety-six percent of the water the reservoir receives comes from Clear Creek via an irrigation ditch.  The remaining percent comes from Woman’s Creek and adjacent drainages.  The water from Standley Lake Reservoir is used as a municipal water supply for the Cities of Westminster, Northglenn and Thornton.  It is also used for agricultural irrigation, recreation and wildlife habitat.

Throughout its history, the dam has undergone periodic maintenance and construction, most recently in 2003/04 with the addition of a new spillway.

1909-1919 - Construction of Standley Lake Dam and Reservoir.

1958 - First planning documents to designate the Standley Lake area as a regional park.

1963 - The City of Westminster enlarges the dam by adding 12,000 acre-feet for a total storage capacity of 42,000 acre-feet.

1970 - The City of Westminster began managing the area as a lake park.

1974 - First acquisition by Jefferson County Open Space of acreage around Standley Lake (210 acres).

1976 - "Standley Lake Feasibility Study" commissioned by Colorado Division of Park and Outdoor Recreation completed.

1978 - Maintenance and reconstruction.

1978 - "House Joint Resolution No. 1041" by Colorado General Assembly endorsing concept of a state park at Standley Lake.

1979 - State advisory committee endorses state park and recreation status for Standley Lake.

1984 - FRICO and the municipal water users propose raising the dam, increasing the water surface area by 250-300 surface acres, and increasing the storage capacity to 58,000 acre-feet.

1988 - First meeting of Standley Lake Task Force.

1990 - Public presentation of conceptual master plan.

1991 - Draft report and recommendations of Standley Lake Task Force issued.

1991 - Draft report finalized by task force.

1998 - Standley Lake gains designation as a Regional Park.

1999 - Construction begins for Phase I, North Shore development of Standley Lake Regional Park improvements.

2000 - Phase I completed.

2003 - Construction of larger spillway and strengthening of dam. New outlet structure and piping of water leaving to Big Dry Creek as well as the City of Thornton, Northglenn and Westminster