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Water Sources#

We manage drinking water from two sources:

  • The Colorado-Big Thompson (CBT) Project shares via Horsetooth
  • The Cache la Poudre River basin, including the Michigan Ditch and Joe Wright Reservoir system.

Colorado-Big Thompson Project (CBT)#

Horsetooth Reservoir

The CBT Project diverts water from the upper Colorado River and stores it in Lake Granby for later delivery to Carter Lake and Horsetooth Reservoir. Northern Water manages the project and sets the quota each year that determines how much water is available per share or unit. This quota significantly affects the supply available in a given year. Fort Collins Utilities currently owns 18,855 CBT units.

Learn More About CBT

Cache la Poudre River#

Poudre River

The amount of usable water in the Poudre River in any given year is highly variable and dependent mainly upon snowpack conditions in the 1,056-square-mile drainage area above the canyon mouth. Roughly 80% of annual Poudre runoff is from snowmelt during April to July. This water supply is a combination of direct flow and converted agricultural water rights on the Poudre River.

Michigan Ditch and Joe Wright Reservoir#

Joe Wright Reservoir

Courtesy of Dick Stenzel, Applegate Group

The Michigan Ditch and Joe Wright Reservoir system, located near Cameron Pass on Highway 14, diverts water from the Michigan River (part of the North Platte River Basin) across the divide into the Poudre River Basin and Joe Wright Reservoir. Joe Wright holds about 7,100 acre-feet of active storage and currently is the only raw water storage facility owned by Utilities that is for treated water. The reservoir is used primarily to regulate the annual Michigan Ditch flows and has limited capacity to provide drought protection for Utilities.


Did You Know?

Using a microwave oven for warming, reheating or cooking food uses less energy than an electric oven.

There are more than 500 miles of water mains throughout Fort Collins.

After a rain, skipping watering until the grass dries will save not only water, but also money.