Here’s a primer of sorts on Colorado Springs’ water supply system, from R. Scott Rappold writing for the Colorado Springs Gazette. Click through and read the whole article. Rappold covers much of Colorado Springs’ water supply history. Here’s an excerpt:
To keep up with population growth, Colorado Springs has extended straws in practically every direction, from the high peaks of the Sawatch Mountains to the arid southeastern plains, a water system spread out across hundreds of miles. The Southern Delivery System may be the last straw. The exact route of the $1.1 billion pipeline – from either Pueblo Reservoir or the Arkansas River in Fremont County – is undecided, but it seems likely the Department of Public Utilities will begin construction this year. It will bring 78 million gallons of water a day to a new reservoir east of Colorado Springs, which officials say will provide enough to meet demand here through 2046. It will be the most expensive project Utilities has ever done.