The many lakes in Colorado's semiarid Front Range Urban Corridor have an especially high value. In the past they were used primarily to store water for irrigation and domestic uses. Some were used for recreation. Today, rapid suburban development in the Front Range Urban Corridor is accompanied by a shift of the principal use of many lakes to recreation and to centers of real estate developments. These same lakes are threatened with a general deterioration of chemical and biological quality caused by heavy use and development of the surrounding area.
The purpose of this report is to present the results of an inventory of the lakes in the central one-third of the Colorado Front Range Urban Corridor. This inventory provides information that might be helpful in planning the best and most beneficial use of lakes in an area of rapid population growth. The report includes data on lake size and water quality. Size data are included on most of the lakes of 2 hectares (20,000 m2, or about 5 acres) or greater, and water-quality data are provided on most lakes larger than 10 hectares (about 25 acres). Bodies of water resulting form excavation of gravel (borrow pits) were generally not included in the inventory.
