A Ditch in Time The City, the West and Water

by Limerick, Patricia Nelson; Hanson, Jason L.

• ISBN13: 9781555913663
• ISBN10: 1555913660
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-07-01
• Publisher: Fulcrum Publishing

Summary

The history of water development . . . offers a particularly fine post for observing the astonishing and implausible workings of historical change and, in response, for cultivating an appropriate level of humility and modesty in our anticipations of our own unknowable future. Tracing the origins and growth of the Denver Water Department, this study of water and its unique role and history in the West, as well as in the nation, raises questions about the complex relationship among cities, suburbs, and rural areas, allowing us to consider this precious resource and its past, present, and future with both optimism and realism. Patricia Nelson Limerickis the faculty director and board chair of the Center of the American West at the University of Colorado, where she is also a professor of history and environmental studies. She currently serves as the vice president for the teaching division of the American Historical Association. Her most widely read book, The Legacy of Conquest, is in its twenty-fifth year of publication.

Author Biography

Patricia Nelson Limerick is the faculty director and board chair of the Center of the American West at the University of Colorado at Boulder, where she is also a professor of history and environmental studies. She has received a Mac-Arthur Fellowship and is considered one of the leading historians of the American West. She currently serves as the vice president for the Teaching Division of the American Historical Association. Her most widely read book, The Legacy of Conquest, is in its twenty-fifth year of publication. Jason L. Hanson is a member of the research faculty at the Center of the American West at the University of Colorado at Boulder, where his work focuses on natural, resource use and the environment. He lives in Denver.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. xiii
Foreword	p. xxi
Introduction	p. 1
Engineered Eden	p. 17
Go Take It from the Mountain	p. 51
Water Development: "The Plot Thickens"	p. 85
Dealing in Diversions	p. 101
A Horrifying Jigsaw Puzzle: The Uncertain Course of the Rivers of Empire	p. 131
No Country for Old Habits: Foothills, Two Forks, and the Revision of the Future	p. 165
Chipping Away at Tradition: The Riddle of Change and Continuity at Denver Water	p. 213
Conclusion Turning Hindsight into Foresight: Denver Water as a Parable	p. 251
Afterword: Two Decades at a Western Water Utility: Some Reflections, Observations, and Occasional Insights by Chips Barry	p. 277
Notes	p. 287
Further Readings	p. 311
Index	p. 317
About the Author	p. 327
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.