One of the big players in the water study that could link
Douglas County to Denver Water’s mountain supply has pulled its
participation.
In March, the Parker Water and Sanitation District withdrew from
the $1.2 million study of what, if it became a reality, would be
the largest water project in the area.
To reduce reliance on groundwater, the South Metro Water Supply
Study Board is studying the possibilities of shifting water from
the mountain reservoirs during wet years through Denver Water’s
system and into Douglas County homes.
A 50-mile pipeline would be built to transport run-off from the
reservoirs to the Foothills Treatment Plant near Roxborough State
Park.
The study has taken longer than originally planned causing price
increases and frustration among Parker water board
members.
“The study was supposed to be done last year and it is still in
draft form,” said Frank Jaeger, district manger for the Parker
water district.
The study began almost three years ago. A key component to it is
creating a model of the Denver basin groundwater, which has proven
to be more complicated than originally thought, said Patrick
Mulhern, project manager for the South Metro Water Supply Study
Board.
Part of the complications, however, has been Parker water
officials’ objections to the assumptions and methods used in
groundwater model.
“Largely because of the questions they brought up, we were
trying to address what they didn’t like, which increased the length
of the study,” Mulhern said.
The Parker water district spent $100,000 for its part of the
study and is withholding payment of outstanding invoices.
Jaeger said that there is no point of continuing to spend money
on a project that did not seem to have an end.
“Denver had not agreed to it, [and] no water has been offered,”
he said. “I don’t have time to sit and wait to see what happens. It
is too costly with no end result telling me what I am going to
get.”
The Parker water district has its own plans to create a
renewable water supply. It is in the process of planning a 16,200
acre-foot reservoir about 3 miles southwest of Parker.
A draft of the study was recently sent to the supply study
board, which is made up of 11 Douglas County water providers, for
review.
If the project is approved, board members will still have
several more hurdles to jump before it comes to fruition including
applying for rights to mountain water, applying for several permits
and seeking state approval for the pipeline.
“[Parker’s pull out] is disappointing for sure,” Mulhern said.
“We want to be unified as a south metro group when we go to Denver
to ask for cooperation.”