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Diagnosis: Water system aging
Comments 0 | Recommend 0$65 million in upgrades needed in next decade, assessment concludes
Colorado Springs' raw water system - the reservoirs, pipes and pumps that deliver water from the mountains - needs $65 million in upgrades in the next decade.
That was one finding in the first comprehensive assessment of cityowned Colorado Springs Utilities' water system.
Fixing some of the 50 intakes, 27 reservoirs, 200 miles of tunnels and pipes, 200 vaults and valves and four major pump stations is necessary because of age, water operations manager Scott Campbell told the Utilities Board last week.
He said half the intakes are up to 50 years old and nearly 40 percent of the reservoirs are 100 years old. Roughly 60 percent of pipes date to the Eisenhower era, as does 45 percent of other structures.
Minor maintenance is needed on 60 percent to 70 percent of the system, while up to 38 percent needs significant maintenance.
Projects range from local systems, such as the Northfield and North Slope watersheds where reservoirs need repair, to the Blue River watershed, where dams need to be fixed.
He said taking components out of service for repairs while supplying water is tricky.
"We're looking forward to when Southern Delivery is in service so we have redundancy on line," Campbell said.
Southern Delivery is a pipeline project that, as proposed, would span 43 miles from Pueblo Reservoir and is due to deliver water by 2012.
But it requires approval from the Bureau of Reclamation, which recently released the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for public comment.
Obstacles include resistance from Pueblo County.
Campbell said repairs, some scheduled for this year, also will be a challenge as Utilities manages a heavy snowmelt stemming from large snowfall in the mountains.
"How do we manage all the water that's coming at us and still manage the work?" he said.
The comprehensive assessment also looked at other areas: water treatment plants and distribution storage tanks and the water distribution system. Reports on those aspects will be presented in April and May, respectively.
