The Denver Metropolitan Area Conference

• DOI: 10.1177/106591294800100305
• Date: 01 September 1948
• Published date: 01 September 1948
• Subject Matter: Articles

261

THE

DENVER

METROPOLITAN AREA

CONFERENCE

by

MAXINE

KURTZ

Denver,

Colorado

On

February

26,

27,

and

28,

1948,

the

city

and

county

of

Denver

and

the

surrounding

counties,

cities

and

incorporated

towns

held

the

first

Denver

metropolitan

area

conference

which,

with

its

subsequent

develop-

ments,

is

proving

to

be

a

unique

experiment

in

cooperative

action

by

local

government.

After

four

and

one-half

months

of

activity,

enough

progress

has

been

made

to

permit

a

study

and

a

partial

evaluation

of

the

results.

THE

PROBLEMS

The

problem

of

decentralization

of

large

cities,

common

to

all

parts

of

the

nation,

is

aggravated

in

the

western

states

by

the

arid

economy-a

factor

which

makes

the

securing

of

an

adequate

dependable

supply

of

potable

water

both

essential

and

expensive.

The

Denver

area

is

supplied

in

part

from

water

of

the

Platte

River

and

its

tributaries,

and

in

part

from

water

sheds

on

the

western

slope

of

the

Rocky

Mountains. In

addition,

some

suburban

areas

are

served

by

deep

wells

drilled

into

the

underground

water

table

of

the

Arapahoe

Basin.

This

source

is

becoming

unreliable,

however,

since

the

number

of

wells

has

been

lowering

the

water

table,

with

a

recent

record

of

wells

going

dry.

In

the

prewar

period,

Denver

had

been

extending

its

domestic

water

system

beyond

its

corporate

limits.

However,

shortage

of

reservoir

space

for

filtered

water,

materials

shortages,

and

a

policy

of

extension

of

the

Den-

ver

city

limits

to

outlying

areas

were

all

factors

resulting

in

a

changed

policy

whereby

no

water

taps

were

given

outside

of

the

corporate

limits

during

the

war

and

the

immediate

post-war

period.

This

phase

of

the

problem

was

accentuated

by

the

impact

of

a

twenty-three

per

cent

population

increase

in

the

Denver

metropolitan

area

between

1940

and

1947.

Health

and

sanitation

were

also

matters

of

serious

concern

to

all

gov-

ernmental

officials.

Inadequate

disposal

facilities

had

contaminated

irriga-

tion

ditches

and

canals,

thus

rendering

unsafe

for

swimming

three

of

the

lakes

within

the

city

and

contaminating

vegetable

and

truck

gardens

below

the

city.

Refuse

and

garbage

disposal,

and

emergency

hospital

care

were

also

health

problems

needing

area-wide

solutions.