The man most people in northern Colorado can thank for most every drop of water they drink died today.

W.D. "Bill" Farr, died at his home in Greeley, the city where his blacksmith grandfather first settled in 1876.

Farr was the driving force behind the Big-Thompson Water project, which drilled a tunnel under the Continental Divide and brought West Slope water to the Front Range.

His family also were pioneers in the livestock business.

"He was a pillar of the cattle business in Colorado," said University of Colorado President Hank Brown.

"He was also a real visionary when it came to water," Brown added. "Probably few people in the state's history did as much to advance water storage as Bill Farr."

Farr was keenly aware of the importance of irrigated water to agriculture. His family helped dig an irrigation ditch between Loveland and Greeley.

As a young man, he joined a group of farmers and businessmen to create what became known as the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District.

In 1937, voters approved the project, which called for pumping water through a 13-mile tunnel under the mountains to Estes Park. World War II slowed the project, which delivered its first water in 1957.

Farr also was instrumental in the Windy Gap water project, which was completed in 1985.

"He was Mr. Water in Colorado," said Greeley Mayor Tom Selders, who has known the Farr family for most of his adult life.

Selders said one of his most cherished possessions is a short letter he received from Farr a few years ago, praising him for the job Selders was doing as mayor.

Farr was honored in January 1999 as the National Western Stock Show's Citizen of the West.

As word of his death spread today, praise for his life-long efforts came from people such as Colorado Sen. Ken Salazar, who described Farr as "a personal hero of mine and of the West."

"He was a giant of Colorado water and he spent countless hours teaching me the lessons of Colorado's water history," Salazar said in a prepared statement. "W.D. has left an indelible mark on Colorado and on the West, and his spirit will continue to grace us forever."