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SYSTEM OVERVIEW <br />Denver Water currently delivers water to approximately 1.2 million people in the City and <br />County of Denver and surrounding suburbs through a system of storage and delivery vessels that <br />draw water from tributaries of the Upper Colorado River basin and South Platte River basin. <br />Denver Water's history is over a century old as highlighted in the following time line: <br />• In 1870, the Denver City Water Company was established to serve a population of 4,759 <br />as water quality and health concerns increased with potable water supply being drawn <br />from irrigation ditches <br />• In 1886, the first water treatment facility was established in Cherry Creek <br />• In 1889, the Kassler Water Treatment Facility was built on the Upper South Platte River <br />• In 1894, after several years of fierce competition amongst local water companies, the <br />Denver City Water Company merged with several smaller companies to form the Denver <br />Union Water Company <br />• In 1902, Marston Reservoir was completed <br />• In 1904, Platte Canyon Reservoir was constructed <br />• In 1905, Cheesman Dam was constructed <br />• In 1918, Denver Water was established as a public company overseen by a Board of <br />Water Commissioners <br />• In 1924, Denver Water purchased Antero Reservoir from the Antero and Lost Reservoir <br />Company <br />• In 1932, Eleven Mile Reservoir was completed <br />• In 1936, the Moffat Tunnel was completed, bringing the first transbasin water into the <br />Denver Water system <br />• In 1937, Ralston Reservoir was completed to store Moffat Tunnel water diverted from the <br />Fraser River basin <br />• In 1955, Gross Reservoir was completed to store Moffat Tunnel water <br />• In 1963, Dillon Reservoir was completed and started filling in the Blue River basin <br />• In 1964, the Roberts Tunnel was first used to bring Blue River transbasin water into the <br />Denver Water system <br />• In 1983, Strontia Springs Reservoir was completed <br />Denver Water is the largest and oldest water utility in Colorado, and is responsible for providing <br />one quarter of Colorado's population with a clean and continuous supply of drinking water. The <br />location of Denver Water's key structures and other major components of its water delivery and <br />storage system in the South Platte River basin are shown in Figure 1. Also included in the <br />figure, for reference, are the major western slope structures utilized in the Denver Water system. <br />The Denver Water service area is highlighted in purple in Figure 1. Denver Water supplies water <br />and maintains infrastructure within the City and County of Denver and provides variable levels <br />of water supply (e.g., total service, meter service, fixed contract amounts, etc.) to other parts of <br />the service area. A simplified straight-line diagram of Denver Water's key structures from <br />Strontia Springs Reservoir downstream to the Denver metropolitan area is shown in Figure 2. <br />Denver Water Board Operating Memorandum 2 of 40 <br />