SMWSA : South Metro Water Supply Authority : Colorado

Welcome to SMWSA

When South Metro Water Supply Authority (SMWSA) was founded in 2004, the idea behind it was simple: bring many smaller water entities in south Denver together to create a regional water authority. SMWSA stemmed from the Douglas County Water Resource Authority (DCWRA), which started in 1992, and the South Metro Water Supply Study Board, formed in January 2000, when other larger water providers requested to work with one regional entity.

We live in a semi-arid region with an average rainfall of less than 20 inches. Water, its uses, flow, quality, ownership, storage and accessibility are what we think about most of the time. A big part of water management is water conservation and all of our members have conservation plans.

By taking a unified approach to regional water rights and allocation, SMWSA better serves constituents through its increased negotiating power and support on structural and non-structural projects. Together, our 15 members represent about half of Douglas County and 10 percent of Arapahoe County (based on land area). Our size gives us clout and we are using our bargaining power to accomplish our goal of securing water rights, building infrastructure, and transporting and storing water for the benefit of our customers.