Like a duck to water, city always looking for more. When Gen. William Palmer laid out a new town in the shadow of Pikes Peak in 1871, he probably never imagined it would grow to nearly 380,000 residents, the second-largest city in the state. If he had, he might have built it somewhere else. Colorado Springs averages just 17.4 inches of precipitation a year - less than half that in Palmer's native Philadelphia. The city has no Delaware River, like Palmer's hometown; or a South Platte River, like Denver; or an Arkansas River, like Pueblo. 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. Even the economic slowdown - and the impact it could have on population projections for Colorado Springs - won't slow the pipeline. — The Gazette, April 4, 2009.
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