|
<br />00lR':"
<br />
<br />I. INTRODUCTION
<br />
<br />Purpose
<br />
<br />The Denver Board of Water Commissioners, responding to the need to provide an adequate
<br />water supply for the Denver Metropolitan Area, has a continuing program for integrating its
<br />appropriations in the Eagle, Piney and Colorado River watersheds into the Roberts Tunnel
<br />collection system, The program of incorporating these sources of supply, including the East Gore
<br />and Straight Creek units of the Roberts Tunnel collection system, was initiated by the Denver Water
<br />Department more than five decades ago and continues in orderly anticipation of the growing needs
<br />of the region_
<br />
<br />In May 1971, the Denver Board of Water Commissioners authorized the joint venture of
<br />Parsons, Brinckerhoff, Quade & Douglas, Inc, and Forrest and Cotton, Inc, to initiate a program
<br />of study to independently analyze and produce more refined plans for the incorporation of the
<br />Board's water resources on the Eagle and Piney Rivers, This program included the correlation,
<br />verification and refinement of previous Department studies, records and other data pertaining
<br />to water availability in the Eagle and Piney River basins, Also included were investigations of
<br />efficient, economical and environmentally sound methods of collecting, storing and conveying the
<br />Board's appropriations from the Eagle and Piney Rivers and their tributaries, Finally, the objective
<br />was to formulate the best means of introducing the water available under the Board's
<br />appropriations into the system through Dillon Reservoir and the Roberts Tunnel.
<br />
<br />Background
<br />
<br />This study is an integral part of the Board's overall long-range plan to provide an adequate
<br />and reliable water supply and distribution system for the Denver Metropolitan Area, This plan
<br />began to take shape during the early years of the Board's existence, with recognition of the need
<br />for importation of water from the Colorado River watersheds to supply adequately the needs of
<br />the City of Denver. The Board, beginning in 1921, appropriated waters from the Fraser River,
<br />Williams Fork River and Blue River basins, Construction of the Fraser River collection system
<br />began in the early 1930's and the first water from that system was delivered in 1936,
<br />Construction of the Williams Fork system began in the late 1930's and the first water from that
<br />system was delivered in 1940,
<br />
<br />In 1941, the Board, jointly with the U,S, Bureau of Reclamation, undertook an investigation
<br />of diverting and transporting water available from the Blue River watershed by what is now known
<br />as the Roberts Tunnel collection system, Later, through its own efforts, the Board continued that
<br />work, As a result, the Board initiated construction of the Harold D, Roberts Tunnel under the
<br />Continental Divide in 1946, The Blue River system, including Dillon Dam and Reservoir and
<br />Roberts Tunnel, was completed in 1963 with the first water made available to the Denver
<br />Metropolitan Area in 1964,
<br />
<br />The Eagle-Piney, East Gore and Straight Creek units are parts of the Roberts Tunnel
<br />collection system, The suggested integration of the Eagle-Piney unit and the Eagle-Colorado
<br />configuration into the existing Roberts Tunnel collection system is reported upon in this Summary,
<br />Details of the evaluations performed are presented in the various other associated reports,
<br />
<br />2
<br />
|