Left Hand Water

District’s
Raw Water Collection
& Treatment System
Left Hand Water District is not new to the source water
protection business. We have been involved with and supported
the work of LWOG since the beginning.
 Isabelle Glacier

Isabelle Glacier sits at the top of the South St. Vrain watershed and the
Lefthand watershed by virtue of the South St. Vrain diversion.
Glacial pool at Isabelle
Glacier.
It’s a steep hike
to the glacier.
 Lake Isabelle sits a little over 2 miles below the
Lake Isabelle glacier and is the highest storage reservoir in
the Lefthand ditch company system.
The stone structure on the left is the outlet
gate house for the tunnel at Lake Isabelle.
 Lefthand Park Reservoir

Lefthand Park Reservoir is near the top of the

Lefthand creek watershed. It is owned and
operated by the Lefthand Ditch Company.
 South Saint Vrain Diversion

The South St. Vrain diversion ditch

diverts water from the South St. Vrain
creek into James creek and eventually
into Lefthand creek.
 Haldi Pipeline Intake

The Haldi intake and pipeline diverts water

from Lefthand creek to irrigators and the
water districts Joder and Spurgeon
reservoirs. Sand and small gravel is removed
from the diverted water.
Debris is removed before water
enters the Haldi pipeline with this
traveling screen. Mostly leaves,
small sticks and some trash.
Joder Reservoir

• Primary Raw Water Reservoir

• 100 Acre Feet
• Gravity flow through pipeline to Spurgeon
Plant of 4.5 MGD
• Treated with copper sulfate for algae
control in the summer
Joder reservoir has less than a week of usable
storage in the summer months and 2 to 3
weeks in winter. In the event of a problem in
Lefthand creek we will need to rely on our
other storage options.
Spurgeon Reservoir

• Secondary Raw Water Reservoir

• 350 Acre Feet
• Pump Station pumps raw water to
Spurgeon Plant (Summer Only)
• Treated with copper sulfate for algae
control in the summer
• We are designing a new pump station that
will allow year round use of this reservoir
Spurgeon reservoir gives us 3 to 4 more
weeks of usable storage in the summer and
8 to 12 weeks in winter.
Left Hand Valley Reservoir

• Secondary Raw Water Reservoir

• Owned by Left Hand Ditch Company
• Primarily used for farmland irrigation
• 1600 Acre Feet
• Pump Station pumps raw water to
Spurgeon Plant at up to 5.4 MGD
In 2002 we constructed a raw water pump station and pipeline
from Lefthand Valley reservoir to the Spurgeon WTP. This
gave us access to an addition storage reservoir primarily as an
emergency source.
 Left Hand Valley Pump Station
A look inside the
underground pump
station. One 150 hp and
two 250 hp pumps.
 Spurgeon Water Treatment Plant

7.5 million gallons per day capacity

Year round operation 24 hours 365 days

Recently updated for safety, reliability
redundancy, and security.

Conventional water treatment

This plant was updated in three phases
between 2000 and 2004 at a cost of
approximately $7 million
 Conventional Water Treatment

Coagulation

Flocculation

Sedimentation

Filtration

Disinfection
Coagulation
 Powdered Activated Carbon &
Caustic Soda

Powdered Activated Carbon can be added
to the raw water at this point to remove
undesirable taste and odor causing
compounds

Caustic Soda can be added for pH
adjustment for improved floc formation
Flocculation & Sedimentation
Filtration
Disinfection
 Stabilization & Fluoridation

pH is adjusted using Soda Ash and Caustic
Soda to stabilize the water before sending
to the distribution system

Fluoride is added to promote healthy teeth
Boulder Feeder Canal Intake
From this gate water flows into
a 30” diameter pipeline to the
Dodd WTP. Weeds and algae
are becoming more of a
problem since Northern Co
Water Conservancy District had
to stop treating the canal with
copper sulfate two years ago.
We are in the planning and
permitting process with the City
of Boulder on a new pipeline
from Carter lake. This existing
intake and pipeline will still be
used after the new pipeline is
completed.
Williamson Ditch Diversion
Dodd Plant Diversion from the
Williamson Ditch
 Dodd Water Treatment Plant

Permitted for 9 Million Gallons per Day

Operated at 6 Million Gallons per Day

Coagulation

Up Flow Clarifier for Flocculation

No Sedimentation

Filtration

Disinfection

Fluoridation and pH stabilization
We are in the planning and permitting process for a plant expansion and
upgrade. Replacing the existing up-flow clarifiers and conventional filters with
flocculation and sedimentation basins and membrane filtration.
Water Conservation

• Water Conservation Plan

• Draught Plan
• Xeriscape Demonstration
Garden
Water conservation is an important piece of how we meet our current and
future water demands, so I wanted to include it in this presentation. It also
gave me a chance to close with a nice photo of our garden.