Editors note: Know Your City explores different departments within local governments in metro Denver.

Jordan Worrell reported to work on a Monday morning in June only to get a call from Colorado Parks and Wildlife.

A herd of buffalo had wandered into the park surrounding Spinney Mountain Reservoir, a 53,651 acre-foot dam tucked inside Park County about an hour-and-a-half west of Colorado Springs. Someone had to corral them. But rather than state park rangers, the task fell to none other than employees of Aurora Water.

Once he was done wrangling buffalo, Worrell pivoted back to his more typical duties of making flow changes at Spinney Mountain. Later he loaded into his vehicle to make the 90-minute trek over to Jefferson Lake, another mountain reservoir under his team’s supervision, to make more flow changes there.

It was all another day in the life of the on-site caretakers who shepherd over Aurora’s most remote, city-owned reservoirs.

Worrell doesn’t just work at Spinney Mountain. He’s one of two Aurora Water employees who live at the reservoir year-round.

“You are living where you work, which sometimes can be a challenge because you are always at work,” he said. “We are basically on call 24/7, 365. There is always somebody working.”

The crew is responsible for maintaining the city’s water rights in the South Park area. They make sure stream gauges are taking accurate readings, manage water flow in and out of the reservoir, and work closely with city staff based roughly 130 miles away at department headquarters in Aurora.

Spinney Mountain is the city’s largest reservoir, providing Aurora with the majority of its water. When the reservoir is at full capacity, it holds a one-year supply of water for the city.

One of his biggest responsibilities, though, is overseeing dam safety. The dam is considered high risk because of the population concentration below it, he said, calling public safety his “No. 1 job.” In the catastrophic event of a dam failure, the reservoir’s water could reach not only Colorado Springs but Aurora itself, he said.

Having on-site caretakers allows Aurora Water to manage its remote reservoirs more diligently than relying on technology alone, he said. Electronics might not flag a small leak in the dam, but when Worrell’s team have eyes on the system every day, they catch things. His crew also comprises a third position, but that person does not live on-site.

This time of year is his busiest, he said. The streams and rivers will be filling up with snow runoff. Worrell is helping monitor stream gauges throughout an area spanning 700 square miles, “so that Aurora is getting the right amount of water.”

Worrell and two other Aurora Water employees also maintain about 10 miles of park roads around the reservoir, used by their crew and members of the public who take advantage of the public fishing. Colorado Parks and Wildlife manages the recreational activities.

He typically starts work at 7 a.m. and wraps up at 3:30 p.m. — although days that involve work at Jefferson Lake can stretch longer, he said.

When the workday is done, Worrell heads in to his city-provided housing where he lives with his 13-year-old daughter. She loves the life as much as he does, he said, except for on the most brutal winter days. Worrell has seen the temperatures reach 60 below, without wind chill, he said.

“There’s times in the winter where we are the coldest place in North America,” he said.

Nonetheless, Worrell said he has the best job in Aurora Water. The scenery is beautiful, he loves local residents and he gets to serve his hometown, he said, noting he was “born and raised in Aurora.”

“Even though it’s not known by a lot of people,” Worrell said, “there is a lot of gratitude and pride I take in this work.”