Montgomery Reservoir Explained

Montgomery Reservoir
Location:Park County, Colorado
Coordinates:39.3556°N -106.0758°W[1]
Inflow:Middle Fork South Platte River
Hoosier Tunnel
Outflow:Blue River Pipeline
Basin Countries:United States
Agency:Water Resources Department, Colorado Springs Utilities
Date-Built:1957[2]
Area:95acres[3]
Volume:5088acre.ft[4]
Elevation:10873abbr=offNaNabbr=off
Frozen:in winter
Pushpin Map:USA Colorado
Pushpin Label Position:right
Pushpin Map Caption:Montgomery Reservoir

Montgomery Reservoir lies high in Colorado's Mosquito Range near Hoosier Pass a few miles north of Alma, Colorado. The reservoir sits at an altitude of 10873abbr=offNaNabbr=off. It is owned by Colorado Springs Utilities and delivers water to Colorado Springs, Colorado for municipal use.[4] Built in 1957,[2] the reservoir stores water from the Middle Fork South Platte River and from a tunnel that brings water from the Blue River on the west side of the continental divide.

Transbasin diversion

Most of the water entering the reservoir comes through the Hoosier Tunnel which collects water from the Blue River watershed on the west side of the continental divide and conveys it to the east side, an instance of a transbasin diversion.[5] Because the reservoir lies near the top of the headwaters of the Middle Fork South Platte River, the watershed above the dam is rather small — only 7.7sqmi in size,[6] so its catchment basin is limited. Thus the chief source of the lake's water is the Hoosier Tunnel.

The reservoir is drained by the Blue River Pipeline, a 70adj=onNaNadj=on long pipeline that flows by gravity to the Colorado Springs Utilities-owned North and South Catamount reservoirs on the slopes of Pikes Peak. From there, the water is treated and delivered to municipal water customers in Colorado Springs.[6]

Dam

Montgomery Dam[7] is a rockfill structure. It is approximately 1900feet long and 113feet high. When it was built, the dam was sealed with an asphalt concrete facing.[2]

Notes and References

  1. 179964 . Montgomery Reservoir.
  2. Book: Hickey, M. E. . 1971 . Asphaltic concrete canal lining and dam facing . Denver, Colo. . Applied Sciences Branch, Division of General Research, Engineering and Research Center, U.S. Dept. of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation . 2027/uc1.31210025039171?urlappend=%3Bseq=26 .
  3. Web site: Exhibit A: Scope Of Work, Montgomery Reservoir improvements . . Doc Player . 2020-07-18 .
  4. Book: Black & Veatch . Black & Veatch . 1996 . Water resource plan for Colorado Springs Utilities . [Colorado Springs] . Water Resources Department, Colorado Springs Utilities .
  5. Web site: Hoosier Tunnel East Portal and Montgomery Reservoir, Colorado . . The Center for Land Use Interpretation . 2020-07-18 .
  6. Web site: Statement of work: Technical feasibility and alternatives analysis for Montgomery Dam upstream face rehabilitation . . Rocky Mountain E-Purchasing System . 2020-07-18 .
  7. retired. 198858 . Montgomery Dam.