Incredible ​Engineering ​Helped Denver ​Water Prepare ​for the ​City's ​Population Boom

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Incredible ​Engineering ​Helped Denver ​Water Prepare ​for the ​City's ​Population Boom

The founders of Denver Water may not have thought there would be 1.4 million people living in the city by 2018, but they did know that Denver would grow into a population center of the west … and planned accordingly.

Author: Cory Reppenhagen

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Cheesman Reservoir, Image Source: Denver Water

There’s proof of this at Cheesman Reservoir, a man-made lake about 80 miles southwest of downtown Denver that’s so breathtaking you almost forget its real purpose: to sustain life in the city of Denver.

The 221-foot dam, constructed with gray granite from a nearby quarry, was at the time the largest dam in the world. It’s proof they were thinking of water needs long into the future.

Thirteen years later, in 1918, the citizens of Denver voted to purchase the private company running their water, and the utility Denver Water was born.

In 1963, Denver Water built an even larger reservoir in Summit County. They had to relocate the town of Dillon to do so, and the former town site is still below the waters of the reservoir that now bears its name.

Read full article and watch a video report: 9News

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