Canals, Pipelines and Outlets

Delivering Water

Canals and pipelines are instrumental in delivering water to our many allottees and constituents. Every year, the Colorado-Big Thompson Project transports more than 200,000 acre-feet of water from the Upper Colorado River Basin to the East Slope through the Adams Tunnel. The C-BT Project’s East Slope distribution system contains 35 miles of tunnels and 95 miles of canals.  

C-BT Project’s Longest Tunnel     

Measuring 9-feet, 9-inches in diameter, the 13-1 mile-long Alva B. Adams Tunnel runs as much as 3,800 feet beneath the surface of the Continental Divide in Rocky Mountain National Park. Dropping 109 feet in elevation between the West and East portals, water flows by gravity through the tunnel without pumping assistance. With a capacity of 550 cubic feet per second, it takes about two hours for water to travel then entire length of the tunnel.