Northern Water
Northern Water, a public agency created in 1937, provides water for
agricultural, municipal, domestic and industrial uses in northeastern
Colorado.
Besides water collection and distribution, Northern Water offers:
- Water conservation
- Weather data collection
- Streamflow and reservoir level monitoring
- Water quality research and protection
- Environmental stewardship
- Water resource planning
Eight Northeastern Colorado counties
Nearly 800,000 people live in Northern Water's service area, which
encompasses portions of eight counties: Boulder, Broomfield, Larimer, Logan,
Morgan, Sedgwick, Washington and Weld.
Northern Water provides water year-round to Fort Collins, Greeley,
Loveland, Longmont, Boulder, Louisville, Lafayette, Broomfield, Fort Morgan
many smaller communities, rural and domestic water districts and local
industries.
Northern Water delivers water to approximately 120 ditch, reservoir and
irrigation companies serving approximately 650,000 irrigated acres of farm
and ranch land between April and October, the primary growing season.
West Slope water collection
Northern Water and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation operate the Colorado-Big
Thompson Project, which collects water from the Colorado River headwaters in
a series of lakes and reservoirs on Colorado's West Slope:
- Grand Lake
- Lake Granby
- Shadow Mountain Reservoir
- Willow Creek Reservoir
Water flows through the mountains via the 13-mile Alva B. Adams Tunnel to
Northern Water's eight-county service area on the East Slope.
Front Range reservoirs
After the water exits the Adams Tunnel's east portal, it flows through five
hydroelectric power plants on its way to the plains and three terminal Front
Range reservoirs:
- Horsetooth Reservoir
- Carter Lake
- Boulder Reservoir
Northern Water offices, employees
Northern Water has approximately 115 full-time employees ranging from
engineers to support personnel. Most work out of Northern Water’s
headquarters in Berthoud, CO; 19 are based at the Farr Pumping Plant on the
West Slope near Granby, CO.
The headquarters has offices, maintenance and storage facilities,
Conservation Gardens and the Colorado-Big Thompson Interpretive Area, which
is a working model of the C-BT. The gardens and interpretive area are open
to the public.
Water for the future
To help provide water for the future, Northern Water is coordinating the
environmental permitting for two proposed projects:
For more information visit
www.northernwater.org