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<br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />Vasquez Tunnel, the Fraser River Collection System, the Cabin-Meadow Creek <br />Collection System, Moffat Tunnel, Gross Reservoir, South Boulder Diversion Canal, <br />Ralston Reservoir, and Long Lakes. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />Williams Fork Reservoir is located on the Williams Fork River near its confluence with <br />the Colorado River at Parshall, Colorado. The reservoir is used as a replacement facility <br />for Denver's transmountain diversion projects. Williams Fork Reservoir is used to <br />exchange water to the Fraser and Williams Fork Collection Systems, the Roberts Tunnel <br />Collection System, and the Cabin-Meadow Creek Collection System, and on occasion is <br />used as a substitution source for Denver Water's obligation to Green Mountain <br />Reservoir. Williams Fork Dam was the first Denver Water facility with a power <br />generation unit. Historically, most of the power generated at Williams Fork was <br />delivered to the U.S. Department of Energy as partial payment for power generation <br />interference caused to Green Mountain Reservoir Power Plant by Denver's upstream <br />depletions of the Blue River at Dillon Reservoir; a portion of the power is used for <br />station service requirements, while the remainder is presently being sold to an electric <br />utility . <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />Operations <br /> <br />The primary goal of collection system operations is to supply a reliable, high quality <br />water supply to Denver's customers. Ultimate delivery of most of the collected water is <br />to Denver's water treatment plants at Moffat, Marston and Foothills, but some goes for <br />irrigation and industrial purposes, or is provided to local suppliers such as the City of <br />Arvada under special limited contracts. In addition to the primary goal, there are several <br />secondary considerations, such as environmental enhancement and recreation, as well as <br />maximizing hydropower revenue and minimizing treatment and distribution costs. In <br />some instances, the collection system is used for flood reduction for local communities. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />To optimize the yield of the collection system, all storage reservoirs must be full at the <br />beginning of a drought period and no water can be spilled during the drought. To attain <br />these conditions, divertible yields of all sources must be forecast or estimated. The <br />reservoirs must be operated to provide space to capture spring runoff so that no reservoir <br />spills water while others fail to fIll. Construction projects, maintenance activities, water <br />quality considerations, contractual obligations and special events also influence how the <br />collection system is operated. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />In most years, more water is available to the collection system during the runoff season <br />than can be consumed or stored; however, during the winter months and in dry years the <br />available water from streams is less than the demand for water, with the result that water <br />must be withdrawn from storage. Current water use averages about 265,000 acre-feet <br />annually, although there is considerable year-to-year variability as shown in Figure III-2. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />13 <br />