Denver Water is halfway through an $18.3-million modernization of the city's Cheesman Dam, with the underwater portion of the project complete and bidding for the second phase under way.
The two-year job, which began last spring with construction of a 1,200-sq-ft control building on the crest, is the 105-year-old dam's first major rehabilitation. The main goal is to upgrade the original outlet works system with new hydraulic valves and pumps that provide more reliable upstream control over water levels.