| 50-year-old water storage tank gets major face-lift  After serving customers reliably since 1958, the Highline Water Storage facility, located on the corner of Mesa and Fillmore, is getting a face-lift. We are replacing the cover of the facility which is slightly larger than a football field on the surface. Two 10-million-gallon underground reservoirs, which store water to serve about 24,000 customers, are hidden below the cover.
Two large cranes have removed the old roof cover, showing the corroded and collapsed support structure underneath. The cover replacement is needed because many of the tank cover supports have become corroded with age. Without the replacement, the cover could collapse and pose a water quality risk. We are completing a portion of the work this year and will finish the remaining work in 2010-2011. Work is planned for months when water demands are lower to reduce customer impacts.  Funding for the project is coming through an agreement with the Colorado Water Resources and Power Development Authority (CWRPDA). The low-interest loan will save customers an estimated $2.86 million. The total cost for the project is estimated at $8.6 million.
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How does Colorado Springs Utilities deliver water to you home?
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Our customers are fortunate to have one of the finest sources of water in the nation…the Rocky Mountains. Nearly 75 percent of our water comes directly from snowmelt near the Continental Divide, making our customers primarily first-time users of the water.
Being first-time users means that the water has not been previously treated, consumed and recycled for use; therefore, it is free of many chemicals and pollutants.
Water service statistics
- Number of customers: 132,016
- Annual water use: 24.1 billion gallons
- Service availability:
- 2008 System Average Interruption Duration Index: 10.86 minutes
- Peak demand: 182,405,000 gallons (July 2001)
- Miles of pipe: 1,780 miles
- Number of storage reservoirs: 25
- Number of treatment facilities: 7
Water Equivalents Table
| 1 cubic foot | 7.48 gallons |
| 1 acre foot | 43,560 feet or 325,851 gallons |
| 1 cubic foot per second | 449 gallons per minute |
| 1 cfs | 646,317 gallons per day |
| 1 million gallons | 3.07 acre feet |
| 1 million gallons per day (MGD) | 1,121 acre feet per year |
| 1,000 gallons per minute | 2.23 cfs |
| 1 MGD | 1.547 cfs |
| 1 MGD | 694 gallons per minute |
| An acre foot covers 1 acre of land 1 foot deep |
