Douglas County now is evaluating a plan to ease the growing
demand on aquifers in south metro Denver with South Platte River
water.
By By: Sean Hadden
But it is still unclear whether a pipeline that would bring
water south from the Beebe Draw and Barr Lake north of Denver would
provide a feasible solution for water districts now relying on
groundwater.
The Beebe Draw is the ancient path of the river.
It is up to 150 feet of sand and gravel deposited by the ancient
river and serves as ideal natural water storage.
Aquifer well levels have dropped significantly in recent years,
forcing communities in Douglas and Arapahoe counties to explore
alternative, renewable water sources.
There is an opportunity to bring water from the lake and the
draw to water districts supplied by Denver Basin
aquifers.
The East Cherry Creek Valley Water and Sanitation District will
begin constructing a water treatment plant and pipeline in 2005 to
bring it 5,500 acre-feet per year, said Dave Kaunisto, executive
director of the district.
The size of the plant and pipeline could be increased so more
water could be brought south.
The county is drawing up an agreement now to obtain access to
the $350,000 worth of data and studies financed by the East Cherry
Creek Valley district during the last year, said Douglas County
Commissioner Jim Sullivan.
An engineer will be retained by the county to evaluate this data
at a cost of $15,000 to $20,000, he said.
The county hopes to have results of the engineer’s evaluation by
the middle of April, Sullivan said.
East Cherry Creek Valley struck its deal for the extra water
with the United Water and Sanitation District and the Farmers
Reservoir Irrigation Co., Kaunisto said.
For part of the water, it will buy shares in the Brighton
irrigation company, he said.
The rest they will buy from United, a special district formed in
2002 to provide water statewide for development or irrigation,
Kaunisto said.
United’s boundaries are in northwest Elbert County, Bob Lembke,
the district’s president, has said.
He has been making the rounds to districts in Douglas and
southern Arapahoe counties explaining how the water from the north
would be delivered and what it would cost to get
involved.
Frank Yeager is the head of the Parker Water and Sanitation
District and heard Lembke’s presentation about joining the
treatment plant and pipeline project.
He said he thinks it could be a viable alternative for some, but
the cost to Parker water consumers would be too high for Parker to
participate.
Yeager said the rate his district would have to charge for the
treated and piped water would be higher than the highest rate now
charged to any of its customers.
Castle Rock utilities director Ron Redd said the town is
interested in the proposal, but will wait for the county’s
engineering study of the East Cherry Creek Valley data before
deciding to pursue inclusion in the project.
“There has certainly been a lot of hoopla about that project,”
Redd said.
He said one of the major misunderstandings about the project is
that it will only cost $25 million to $30 million to expand the
diameter of the pipeline.
The potential cost of the entire project, including building an
adequate treatment plant, could run $800 million.