DENVER — Community members in Denver's Sloan’s Lake neighborhood are pushing for a $40 million investment to help improve the lake.
They hope the restoration project will be included in Mayor Mike Johnston’s Vibrant Denver bond initiative, which voters will consider this fall. The bond initiative could total more than $800 million.
Once home to an amusement park, a beach, and even a boardwalk reminiscent of Atlantic City, Sloan’s Lake has a rich past. But today, the lake faces mounting environmental challenges.
“Sloan’s Lake is only about three feet deep on average,” said Kurt Weaver, who leads the Sloan’s Lake Park Foundation, a nonprofit that advocates for the lake. “In a 177-acre lake, that’s a huge problem. The water tends to not have enough oxygen and stagnates very quickly. It’s why you see things like fish kills in the summer, unfortunately.”
Denver7 has reported on issues impacting the lake. Read our previous coverage below:
- Dead fish are stinking up Sloan’s Lake in Denver. Here’s why. (July 2024)
- Sloan’s Lake closed until further notice due to potentially deadly blue-green algae (July 2021)
- Are you seeing — and smelling — dead fish in lakes around Denver? Here's why (August 2020)
Weaver said the lake’s deterioration isn’t always visible to the average person driving or walking by, but it’s significant. His group is pushing the city to fund a shoreline restoration project that would help reduce erosion and improve water quality.
“Certainly, the Vibrant Bond is an opportunity for us to put together some significant dollars to start the process,” Weaver said. “Taking care of a lake this size is not an inexpensive project, and so when programs like the Vibrant Bond come up with Denver, it's a great opportunity for us to then get a large project that's difficult to get done.”
The proposed restoration is just one of hundreds of pitches submitted from across Denver as neighborhoods vie for a piece of the bond funding. Submissions range from improvements to art centers and theaters to new roadway projects. An executive committee appointed by Johnston is now reviewing the proposals, prioritizing those that are “shovel-ready.”
“The idea is that we do this over the next six years — that we get these projects done, that we get them launched and going,” said Jon Ewing, a spokesperson for the mayor’s office.
In the coming weeks, the committee will deliver its recommendations to the mayor and the Denver City Council. The finalized list will then be presented to voters this fall.
For advocates like Weaver, the hope is that city leaders — and ultimately, voters — see the value in preserving Sloan’s Lake.
“We want this amazing gem that’s been here since 1861 to be here for another 150 years,” Weaver said.
To learn more about the Vibrant Denver bond initiative, click here.
