The city of Aurora is working on a $754 million Prairie Waters Project to extract water from the South Platte River, treat it and pipe it to customers--a process that will increase Aurora's water supply by 20 percent. "This is the wave of the future," said Glenn Bodnar, drinking-water specialist for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. "The way Colorado is growing and the finite amount of pure water we have, water systems are going to be looking for additional sources of drinking water," Bodar said. "Aurora is leading the charge." Prairie Waters is the first large-scale water-reuse project in Colorado and the state's first big water project in 40 years. While the system of diverting mountain water to the Front Range has allowed eastern Colorado to prosper, it also has pitted the Western Slope against the Front Range, farmers against city dwellers, and water managers against environmentalists. The reuse approach of Prairie Waters, some say, is one way to broker peace in the water wars...The project is slated to be competed in 2010. The city's 300,000 customers are already picking up the tab, paying an average of 12 percent more on their bills. Tap fees have risen from $6,711 per home to $16,641.

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