The 1,500 acre Water Valley property has become a focus of immense proportions in the State of Colorado when studying the relationship of real estate development and our natural habitat. For the last 18 years, since the purchase of the property, every consideration has been given to the preservation of the Riparian Corridor - a term used to describe the banks or ground adjacent to a naturally occurring body of water. The development team began, in the course of mining the property's aggregate reserves, maintaining a 300-400 foot distance from the river's edge when the mining permit actually allowed them to mine within 100 feet of the river. After purchasing the property from the original owner, the Water Valley development team began an intensive effort to enhance the natural beauty by constructing The Pelican Lakes Golf Course on each side of the river along the length of the property. The beautiful lakes that currently border the golf course, separate the golf course from the subdivision and errant golf balls never have the chance to damage a Water Valley homeowner's home.

    Working with a river hydrologist, a reclamation plan was developed and approval was obtained from the United States Corporations of Engineers, the Environmental Protection Agency, The United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Colorado Division of Wildlife and several other federal and state agencies. Under this plan and permit, the river was reshaped to something more closely resembling its natural state, and protective structures were installed utilizing large rocks and cottonwood root wads. A wide Riparian ledge was also constructed between the normal water's edge and the reshaped bank. The result of this enhancement is a greatly beautified stretch of river with stable banks, much improved fish habitat and a wildlife corridor where none existed before. Deer, beaver, fox, coyote, eagles, geese, ducks and raccoonns migrage regularly along the trails.

    In addition to the natural beauty of the river is the man-made Poudre River Trail recently constructed along the river and continuing through the Water Valley property. This will eventually connect the cities of Fort Collins and Greeley via the Poudre River and allow the public to access an area that previously would not have been accessible.

    In 2004 the Colorado Department of Natural Resources presented Water Valley with the Mined Land Land Reclamation Award. This designation is given annually to the development/mining company which does the best job of either imporving the land's natural satate or enhancing the land following the conclusion of mining activity.

    Today, the five man made lakes serve a two-fold purpose: on one hand they serve as a source of endless entertainment for residents as tehy can play or picnic on the miles of sandy baeaches, fish for a variety of species of stocked fish, swim and boat. On the other hand, the lakes also serve as a source of a dual water system for the community's irrigation needs. Water Valley came to the realization more than a decade ago that it could provide its residents with an economical alternative to using city treated water to irrigate their lawns. In addition, using the lake's nonpotable water reduces the amount of chemicals put back into the lakes and reduces the amount of water the Windsor water treatment facility must process. It is an ecologically feiendly plan that creates a win-win situation for the Water Valley residents, the Town of Windsor, and for the wildlife which exist in the lakes at Water Valley.

     It is truly amazing to look at the Water Valley residential community today and think it was once a mining operation with powering mounds of sand an gravel, bustling heavy equipment and conveyor belts. But Windsor native Martin Lind, the president and developer of Water Valley, had a vision of how the project all would unfold from the start of the mining operations. He knew the sand and gravel could be sold and used for the beaches around the lakes, the top soil could be relocated to raise the elevation of homesites above the flood plain, and the pits left in the ground as a result of extracting the sand and gravel could be shaped, mined with clay and filled with irrigation ditch water to create a series of recreational lakes. All on an area which was once farmland and river bottoms.

    One of the most unique facts about the Water Valley community is the unusually low proportion of residential units per total developed acres. Water Valley was master planned to contain approximately 2,100 homes upon build-out on 1,500 acres of land. And considering the community contains 27 holes of golf, miles of beaches and trails, numerous wetlands and ponds, 5 lakes and a river, it becomes obvious that Water Valley was designed with quality of life in mind for its residents.