Dave Merritt, Glenwood City Council

David Merritt received his undergraduate and graduate degrees in Earth Sciences from Dartmouth College, where he studied the dynamics of circulation of Lake Powell. Following graduation, he went to work for the Corps of Engineers' Waterways Experiment Station in Vicksburg, Mississippi. During his three and one-half years there as a Research Hydrologist, he worked on applied and general research in the field of reservoir stratification and its effects on reservoir water quality.

In 1980, Dave moved to Denver to work for the US Bureau of Reclamation in the Colorado River Water Quality Program. There, he worked on overall program timing and implementation and on better defining the methods the Bureau used to predict future salinity and its associated costs.
For 19 years, Dave had the great opportunity to work for the Colorado River Water Conservation District in Glenwood Springs as a chief engineer. He was responsible for the permitting, construction and now operation of the Wolford Mountain Reservoir Project near Kremmling.

He has also maintained his involvement with water quality in a number of Forums, ranging from the Gunnison Basin Selenium Task Force to the State of Colorado Non-Point Source Council on to the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Forum’s Work Group. As such, he has gained an appreciation for water quality issues from a number of different perspectives.

Dave and his wife live in Glenwood Springs and have three children and one granddaughter (very recent). Having the additional time on his hands that happens when all of the children have fled the roost, he ran for Glenwood Springs City Council and was elected.