Barker Reservoir
Encyclopedia
Barker Meadow Reservoir is a water supply reservoir
in the Colorado Front Range
located near the town of Nederland, Colorado
in southwestern Boulder County
.
Barker Meadow Dam provides water to a downstream hydroelectric power generating facility, and its reservoir provides water to the city of Boulder, Colorado
. In 1908, the Central Colorado Power Company began construction of Barker Meadow Dam to provide electricity to nearby mining communities and the city of Denver. Completed in 1910, the dam and Barker Meadow Reservoir were named for the owner of the land, Mrs. Hannah Connell Barker
. Mrs. Barker refused to sell the land to the utility but was eventually forced to do so through a process similar to the contemporary legal procedure of eminent domain
. The dam was constructed by hauling concrete and other materials along a specially constructed spur of the Switzerland Trail
narrow-gauge railroad, which went bankrupt and was broken up shortly after construction ended.
The dam provides flow control for Middle Boulder Creek, mitigating large floods that occurred routinely before the dam was built. An aqueduct with inlet just below the dam supplies water with about 1500 feet of head to a hydroelectric plant near the base of Boulder Canyon, several miles downstream.
Reservoir
A reservoir , artificial lake or dam is used to store water.Reservoirs may be created in river valleys by the construction of a dam or may be built by excavation in the ground or by conventional construction techniques such as brickwork or cast concrete.The term reservoir may also be used to...
in the Colorado Front Range
Colorado Front Range
The Colorado Front Range is a colloquial geographic term for the most populous region of the state of Colorado in the United States. The area is located just east of the foothills of the Front Range, aligned in a north-south configuration on the western edge of the Great Plains, where they meet the...
located near the town of Nederland, Colorado
Nederland, Colorado
The Town of Nederland is a Statutory Town established in 1885 located near the Continental Divide and Barker Meadow Reservoir in the mountains of southwest Boulder County, Colorado....
in southwestern Boulder County
Boulder County, Colorado
Boulder County is the sixth most populous of the 64 counties of the state of Colorado of the United States. The county seat is Boulder. The most populous municipality in the county and the county seat is the City of Boulder...
.
Barker Meadow Dam provides water to a downstream hydroelectric power generating facility, and its reservoir provides water to the city of Boulder, Colorado
Boulder, Colorado
Boulder is the county seat and most populous city of Boulder County and the 11th most populous city in the U.S. state of Colorado. Boulder is located at the base of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains at an elevation of...
. In 1908, the Central Colorado Power Company began construction of Barker Meadow Dam to provide electricity to nearby mining communities and the city of Denver. Completed in 1910, the dam and Barker Meadow Reservoir were named for the owner of the land, Mrs. Hannah Connell Barker
Hannah Connell Barker
Hannah Connell Barker was an early resident of Boulder, Colorado. Barker was a teacher, civic leader, businesswoman and land developer in an era when industrious women were not commonly recognized for their contributions...
. Mrs. Barker refused to sell the land to the utility but was eventually forced to do so through a process similar to the contemporary legal procedure of eminent domain
Eminent domain
Eminent domain , compulsory purchase , resumption/compulsory acquisition , or expropriation is an action of the state to seize a citizen's private property, expropriate property, or seize a citizen's rights in property with due monetary compensation, but without the owner's consent...
. The dam was constructed by hauling concrete and other materials along a specially constructed spur of the Switzerland Trail
Switzerland Trail
The Switzerland Trail is a historic narrow-gauge railroad line that was operated at different times by the Greeley, Salt Lake and Pacific Railway, the Colorado and Northwestern Railroad, and the Denver, Boulder, and Western Railroad around the turn of the 20th century in the Colorado front range...
narrow-gauge railroad, which went bankrupt and was broken up shortly after construction ended.
The dam provides flow control for Middle Boulder Creek, mitigating large floods that occurred routinely before the dam was built. An aqueduct with inlet just below the dam supplies water with about 1500 feet of head to a hydroelectric plant near the base of Boulder Canyon, several miles downstream.