The Last Water Hole in the West

Book excerpt: "The history of the largest transmountain diversion project ever built - the Colorado-Big Thompson (C-BT) - designed to bring Colorado River water through a thirteen-mile tunnel under the Continental Divide to farmers in the South Platte River basin. The book also offers a detailed exploration of the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District (NCWCD), the agency created to oversee the design, construction, water delivery, and payment of the monumental C-BT. Using a wealth of sources - minutes, reports, speeches, memoranda, newspaper accounts, and interviews with NCWCD officials - Daniel Tyler presents a practical, hands-on story of construction, operation, and maintenance of a supplemental water delivery system. Tyler writes history that reflects the pros and cons of litigation and negotiation in water-conflict resolutions. His book is also a chronology of the struggle between disciples of water development and proponents of environmental causes, including many issues of relevance to other state and federal entities with a stake in western water"--P. [4] of cover.