Englewood 1997 WCPlan - Laserfiche WebLink

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BACKGROU:\D Water Svstem Historv Prior to 1952, Englewood was served water by the Denver Water Board. In 1948, however, the citizens of Englewood voted to issue bonds to develop an independent water system. During this period between 1948 and 1952 the City acquired water rights and developed the physical plant to treat and distribute the water. The first water right purchased was the Atchinson Ranch rights, located on the present site of the Locheed-Manin complex near Ken-Caryl in the southwest Denver metropolitan area. Later in the mid-1950's, partly in response to drought conditions, additional investments were made in Bear Creek and the South Platte water rights. Also during the 1950's the City of Englewood purchased transmountain diversion water from the Blue River basin and Ranch Creek/Meadow Creek rights near Fraser where water was delivered through the Moffat Tunnel. After securing the water rights, Englewood focused its efforts on constructing the necessary physical plant to deliver and treat the water. The intake structure, located at the headgate of the Petersburg Ditch near Union Avenue and the South Platte River was one of the first structures built. The water was pumped from there to a 25 MGD treatment plant, located at South Windemere Street and West Layton Avenue. In 1952, when the City began operation of its water system, there were 6,]85 taps on the system, including the Southeast Englewood Water District, which was located outside the City. By 1961 the number of taps had grown to 13,500. During the 1960's, as the water system grew at a rather rapid rate, the City began experiencing operational problems. To address these problems the City constructed its second water treatment plant, the 7 MGD capacity Bear Creek Treatment Plant. In 1965, the City also constructed the 6,000 acre-foot McLellan Reservoir near County Line Road and Santa Fe Drive. Also in 1965 the Southeast Englewood Water District terminated its contract with Englewood and agreed to a supply contract with the Denver Water Board. Southeast Englewood's decision constItuted a loss ot 4,7UO taps rrorri'tne system or about 35% of the total water tiips at the time, This was a major financial challenge for Englewood during a time of system expansion. To help pay for many of the system's recent upgrades, the City entered into water supply agreements . with AMAX, Thornton and Mission Viejo. ' . To improve operational efficiency, the Allen Filter Plant was upgraded in 1977, and then again in 1980 to 34 MGD. With the upgrade of the Allen Plant, the Bear Creek Plant's operation was suspended The City has also commenced a program to systematically upgrade its water system to replace older pipe and facilities with new equipment, pipe and plant.