The Watershed provides municipal water for over three quarters of Colorado’s residents! This makes it truly unique both environmentally and economically to the State.

Over three quarters of the State’s population lives on the east slope of the Continental Divide, but over three quarters of the precipitation that falls on Colorado falls on the west side of the Divide. This imbalance has required some engineering feats to meet the needs of the State’s residents. Water for the Front Range may actually come from natural supplies, which fall in the watershed as rain or snow, or as “trans-mountain diversion” flows. Trans-mountain diversions bring water that originates in other watersheds through pipelines that cross through the mountain peaks. These pipes then discharge water into the natural drainage of the South Platte, or into other pipeline systems to take water to communities in the Front Range from Colorado Springs in the south, to Aurora and Denver in the north. Denver Water’s Robert’s Tunnel system is a good example. It brings water from the Upper Colorado River Watershed, and discharges it into the North Fork of the South Platte.

Front Range water providers run a complex-infrastructure system in the watershed. They own not only pipelines, but also reservoirs that store water during spring snowmelt for use at other times. Reservoirs provide recreational opportunities for residents, as well as water supply for the cities.