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Commanding a view of the city in the distance, the energy-saving Foothills Treatment Plant ,upplie, much of the year-round water need, of nearly one million people in the Denver area. The modern facility, joining three other treatment hydroelectric power i, generated for plant operation and ,urplu, ,ale. In,tallation of a generator below the valve house at the dam also provides hydroelectric power to operate the dam a, well as ,urplu, for sale. plant' of the Denver Water Department, treats up to 285 million gallons of water daily. Foothill, boost, the treatment capacity of Denver plant, to 785 million gallons daily (mgd). Construction began on the ,econd 125 mgd increment the ,ummer of 1983, ,oon after the plant opened. Following two years of operation, the initial plant capacity of 125 mgd was upgraded to 160 mgd. Eventual capacity of the plant i, at least 500 mgd, with the last two ,tages to be added in future decades as population demands. Water collected on the west ,ide of the Continental Divide a, well a, in the east slope basin flows long distances through reservoirs? through a tunnel under the Rockies, and down streams. Captured behind Strontia Spring, Dam in the steep South platte River Canyon? mountain water settles into the 7,700 acre-foot reservoir. Diverted into a 3.4-mile .tunnel between the dam and the plant, the water continues downward to the headworks, where Other important energy saving' are being realized. With water flowing entirely by gravity from the dam through the tunnel to the plant and on down to the distribution system, expensive pumping costs are reduced throughout the Denver metro area. Consumption increased on the Denver water system until Marston, Moffat and Kas,ler Treatment Plant, fell behind in meeting hot weather demands in 1977. Customers on the Denver water system began six summers of restricted water use, watering outside only every third day to trim peak loads. With Foothill, in operation the summer of 1983, mandatory watering rules were dropped in favor of a ,trong voluntary conservation program. Foothills treats water from Denver's present water supply; the plant i, not processing any new water. 'Foothill, provides the capacity to meet Denver's urgent need for adequate treated water. Down the road the burgeoning metro area mu,t develop more raw water supply.