Here’s Part Three of the Metro North Newspapers series “Unquenchable Thirst” (Megan Quinn). Ms. Quinn explores the world of Front Range municipal diverters and the quality of the surface water supply. Click through and read the whole thing. Here’s an excerpt:
Whether it’s waterborne diseases, invasive species or pollution, it’s up to a combination of water laboratories, testing facilities, activist groups and government agencies to make sure the water we drink is clean. For many cities, monitoring begins at a treatment plant, such as the city of Golden, which serves as a central location for collecting a huge volume of data on Clear Creek and its flow.
Golden is part of a group of cities that helps collect and publish detailed data sets on the water’s quality and condition.
“I don’t know another river in Colorado that has so much data collection,” said Anne Beierle, the city’s deputy director of public works.
The group started in the early 1990s as a way for cities that use Clear Creek water, such as Golden, Arvada, Thornton, Northglenn and Westminster, to monitor quality and share information.