Plans for pipeline to move Poudre water to Thornton take shape
Kevin Duggan
Longstanding plans to ship millions of gallons of Poudre River water to Thornton are about to flow through a series of regulatory and permitting hoops.
Thornton water officials have selected a preferred route for a 48-inch-diameter pipeline that would run from Water Supply and Storage Co. reservoirs north of Fort Collins to the east side of Interstate 25.
From there, the pipeline would follow Weld County Road 13 through Timnath, Windsor and other communities all the way to water treatment facilities in Thornton. The project requires permits from each governmental entity along the way as well as agreements with property owners.
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Thornton has proposed placing the pipeline under Larimer County's jurisdiction within the right of way of Douglas Road, which is also County Road 54. The pipeline would run from roughly Bayshore Road past Turnberry Road before heading north through Thornton-owned farmland and farther east.
Construction along the 70-mile pipeline route could begin in 2019. The project, currently estimated to cost $430 million, needs to be operational by 2025 to meet Thornton’s water supply needs, said Mark Koleber, water project manager.
The proposed alignment through Larimer County came after reviewing numerous alternative routes, Koleber said. The city and its consultants talked to county officials, property owners, residents and homeowners’ associations to get opinions on the best route.
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Criteria used to filter potential routes included impacts to the environment and neighborhoods as well as cost to Thornton, he said.
Neighbors raised many concerns, including traffic delays during construction and noise and vibrations from pump stations. In the end, residents’ comments made a difference in the alignment of the preferred route, Koleber said.
“We wanted to make sure we covered the bases really well on what we heard from the residents about their concerns,” he said.
Thornton expects to make a formal application to Larimer County for the project within a few weeks. Hearings before the county planning commission and the county commissioners likely will be scheduled in early 2018, said Rob Helmick, senior planner with Larimer County.
A separate site-review plan process will be used in considering the design and location of a pump station for the pipeline capable of moving 40 million gallons of water a day.
The facility likely would be placed between the Water Supply and Storage Co. reservoirs and Douglas Road. Details for the pump station have not been decided, Kobeler said, but it would be designed to blend into the surrounding area.
The pipeline route and its impacts are sensitive issues. More than 150 people showed up for a community meeting about the project Sept. 12 at the Larimer County Courthouse Office Building in Fort Collins.
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The question-and-answer portion covered many areas, including concerns from Douglas Road residents about access during construction, Koleber said.
Others questioned why the pipeline route did not go far to the north and clear of existing neighborhoods and developed properties. Cost was not the only issue in deciding the route, Koleber said, but it’s a major factor.
“We looked at what was the best way to spend our dollars and get the highest criteria score,” he said.
Residents who contacted the Coloradoan about the project declined to express their concerns on the record because they didn't want to antagonize neighbors.
Water fight
Thornton has owned rights to Poudre River water since the mid-1980s. In anticipation of needing water to support growth, the city bought about 100 farms, primarily in Weld County, for their water rights.
The city wound up with about 21,000 acres of land and rights to 30,263 acre-feet of water. An acre-foot of water is enough to meet the annual needs of three to four urban households.
The purchases left Thornton owning 47 percent of shares in Water Supply and Storage Co., which has diverted from the Poudre River to serve farmers since 1891, and 17 percent of the Jackson Ditch Co.
The city's application for the water rights and converting them from agricultural to municipal use launched a legal battle that wound up in the Colorado Supreme Court. The state Water Court issued its final decree in 1998.
Several of Thornton’s farms have been converted to dry-land farming in anticipation of sending their water out of the region. Eventually the farms will be sold, potentially for non-farming use.
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Thornton's share of the Poudre is diverted near Bellvue. It moves along Water Supply and Storage Co. ditches to a set of reservoirs west of Colorado Highway 1 and north of Douglas Road.
Critics of Thornton’s pipeline project refer to it as “the big straw.” The environmental group Save the Poudre and others have said Thornton should keep its water in the river through Fort Collins to a takeout point near Windsor and then send it south.
Thornton officials have said they want the cleanest water possible. Running the water through Fort Collins would pick up contaminants and increase the cost of treating the water.
County stake
A selling point for taking the pipeline along Douglas Road could be an opportunity to collaborate with Larimer County, which is interested in improving the road in anticipation of growth and increased traffic.
If the road were widened at the same time the pipeline was installed, construction would take longer, but the associated traffic hassles would happen once rather than twice with separate projects.
“Overall I think it’s a good outcome for the taxpaying citizens of Larimer County to have us coordinating,” he said. “Instead of us just taking out one lane of road and rebuilding that lane, we can put the money that would have gone for that one lane into a better outcome for the road.”
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The county plans to install traffic signals at the intersection of Colorado 1 and Douglas Road in 2020, said Mark Peterson, county engineer. The project will be funded in part by a $330,000 grant from the Colorado Department of Transportation.
There is no definitive plan for widening Douglas Road, although the Master Transportation Plan calls for a street with improved shoulders and bicycle lanes.
A rebuilt road might have two travel lanes and a center turn lane or left-turn lanes at intersections, he said.
“If there is the ability to potentially leverage some activity out there, we would want to take a step back and take a look at that possibility,” Peterson said.
Kevin Duggan is a Coloradoan senior reporter covering local government. Follow him on Twitter, @coloradoan_dugg, and on Facebook at Coloradoan Kevin Duggan.
Pipeline basics
For the city of Thornton's proposed water pipeline:
- 70 miles: Projected length for the preferred alignment
- 48 inches: Expected diameter of the pipe
- $430 million: Current cost estimate
- 14,000 acre-feet: Average annual amount of water the pipeline would deliver to Thornton
- 2025: When the pipeline could go online
Source: City of Thornton