Public Works & Utilities
Welcome to Westy Water - all things water at the City of Westminster. We are the water utility committed to providing our community with high-quality and reliable water services now and into the future. The Public Works and Utility (PWU) department is responsible for treating up to 59 million gallons of water each day through our two water treatment facilities and distributed through about 554 miles of pipes to our homes and places of business. Additionally, our wastewater system treats over 7 million gallons of wastewater per day from 400 miles of pipe each year at our Big Dry Creek Wastewater Treatment Facility. Lastly, with our commitment to sustainability in mind, we have 121 reclaimed water sites, which make up over 1,300 irrigated acres. These sites can be found throughout the city in parks, golf courses, schools, sports fields, commercial properties and Homeowner Association (HOA) common areas.
Who We Serve
We have over 33,000 customers! In addition to City of Westminster residents and businesses, we also provide water to the City of Federal Heights, Shaw Heights, and parts of unincorporated Adams and Jefferson County.
Where your water comes from
1. The Front Range is a dry place. Like most communities in Colorado, Westminster’s water starts as snowflakes that fall in the Rocky Mountains.
2. About 12 inches of snow melts to 1 inch of water on average, but that’s not always the case. We monitor snow water equivalent, or how much water is contained in snow, at two locations to get a better estimate of how much water is expected during the spring runoff.
3.The majority of Westminster’s water comes from Clear Creek in Golden. Snow across about 400 square miles of mountainous terrain surrounding Idaho Springs, Central City, Georgetown and Loveland Pass melt in the spring and summer and flow into Clear Creek.
4. A small portion of Westminster’s water comes from the Continental Divide thanks to a long-standing agreement with Denver Water.
5. Water is serious business in Colorado. Westminster is only allowed to store and use water that it has a right to use.
6. Westminster partners with neighboring communities and businesses that also rely on Clear Creek to monitor its water quality. Ten monitoring sites take over 3 million water quality tests each year. If contamination occurs, an automated alert system will alert downstream users.
7. Canals play a critical role moving water across Colorado and Westminster is no different. Three different canals are designed to bring water to Standley Lake. In an emergency, canal gates can be adjusted to divert flows from entering Standley Lake.
8. Standley Lake stores 13 billion gallons of water for Westminster, Thornton, Farmers Reservoir and Irrigation Company (FRICO) and Northglenn. Enough water is stored in Standley Lake to serve Westminster residents and businesses for one and a half years.
9. The biggest threat to Westminster’s water supply is variability in climate - most specifically drought. Changes to precipitation and temperatures affect how much water Westminster may receive in any given year. Staff carefully monitor the city’s water supply and plan for the future. Drought is always possible, but Westminster’s water supply is in good shape if residents continue to conserve water like they have over the last 20 years.
The City of Westminster has provided its residents water since 1955. Prior to 1955, the City provided water for its residents solely from groundwater wells. As Westminster grew, so did our need for new forms of resource collection and allocation. In the 1960s, the City began negotiations about managing Standley Lake and securing its own water management. Today, we are proud to manage Standley Lake for our residents and our neighbors in Northglenn, Thornton, and the Farmers Reservoir and Irrigation Company. Learn more about the history of water in Westminster.