Pueblo West joins Springs water project
Colorado Springs has scored a coup in its controversial water pipeline plan by signing up Pueblo West Metropolitan District as an advocate.
The district’s financial portion is tiny at less than 1 percent.
But its participation brings on board an agency that represents a fifth of Pueblo County’s population — a number Colorado Springs hopes won’t be ignored by Pueblo County officials, who could make or break the project using land regulations.
“They (Pueblo West) have a need, and they’re willing to sign up with it,” said Councilman Jerry Heimlicher. “Having them added on is one more component of Pueblo County that, hopefully, will turn the tide of a favorable opinion of county commissioners when they look at the 1041” application.
He was referring to landuse regulations that Pueblo County commissioners will impose if
and when Colorado Springs Utilities officially seeks permission to cross Pueblo County.
The Springs contends Pueblo County adopted more restrictive land-use regulations,
commonly titled after House Bill 1041 that created that authority, to block the pipeline.
Pueblo County commissioners are suspicious of the project because they fear it will cause further flooding, erosion and pollution in Fountain Creek, an overloaded stream that flows to the Arkansas River east of Pueblo.
The pipeline, in the planning stages for years, would deliver 78 million gallons a day to Colorado Springs’ northeast side and satisfy the city’s water needs until about 2042. Discharges of treated wastewater would go into Fountain Creek.
A Pueblo District Court judge recently ruled Colorado Springs must abide by the 1041 regulations, and Utilities is weighing whether to appeal the ruling or proceed with a 1041 application.
Meanwhile, last week the Springs City Council approved adding Pueblo West to the project, which involves participation from the city of Fountain and Security Water District.
The agreement calls for fastgrowing Pueblo West, home to 32,000 people, to participate in the project to expand its ability to draw water from the Arkansas River below Pueblo Dam and pipe it to the district’s treatment plant.
Now the pipeline size restricts the district to 12 million gallons a day, but joining the Southern Delivery System project would increase its ability to pipe water by an additional 18 MGD, said district manager Don Saling.
The bigger pipeline would allow the district to provide ample water to attain buildout of its 18,000 lots with a population of 60,000.
An alternative plan, Saling said, would draw water directly from the river, but the water would be of lower quality.
“It’s a great opportunity for both of us,” he said, referring to the district and Colorado Springs.
For its part, Pueblo West agreed to “cooperate with the project manager to obtain all federal, state and local permits and approvals necessary for the construction, operation, maintenance and use of the project.”
That means Pueblo West would support Springs Utilities’ 1041 application.
Heimlicher said he expects Pueblo West to “exert pressure on the commissioners” to approve the pipeline.
The district can bail out of the agreement if the Bureau of Reclamation, which is reviewing several alternatives, opts for a plan that doesn’t accommodate Pueblo West’s plans. It also may opt out if the bureau’s decision is delayed beyond June 2009.
The agreement calls for the district to pay .013 of 1 percent of the project’s capital cost, or roughly $715,000.
The rest of the $550 million project is split among Colorado Springs, $524 million; Fountain, $18.1 million, and Security, $7.1 million.
Utilities CEO Jerry Forte called the agreement “very important” in making the project’s scope regional in nature — a critical aspect of federal water policy.
“It’s important to have a partner in Pueblo County, because we need to demonstrate we’re attempting to partner with everybody,” he said. “From a cooperative approach, it’s exactly what we want to be about.”
Pueblo County Commissioner Jeff Chostner declined to comment.
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