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ACWWA Flow Project

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1. What is the ACWWA Flow Project?

The ACWWA Flow Project is a water supply project which will serve the Arapahoe Water and Wastewater Authority (ACWWA) service area. Upon completion, it will result in an annual average delivery of 4,400 acre-feet of water (1 acre foot generally serves 2 households annually) to the ACWWA service area to supplement current water supplies. This will provide a secure and high quality water source for current and future ACWWA customers.
The components of the project are:


- Renewable water rights from the South Platte River Basin

- Regulatory water storage

- Easements, alluvial wells, storage, and delivery infrastructure to deliver water rights to the East Cherry Creek Valley (ECCV) Water Treatment Plant

- Water Treatment capacity in the ECCV Water Treatment Plant

- Additional capacity in the existing ECCV Northern Pipeline, a 48” pipeline that travels from the Barr Lake area south to the ECCV service area

- Chambers Reservoir, located at E-470 and Chambers Road

- Interconnect line to deliver water supplies from the ECCV service area to ACWWA’s service area

2. Why does ACWWA need additional water?

ACWWA’s current supply of water primarily consists of deep groundwater wells and shallow alluvial wells along Cherry Creek. There are two major components as to why ACWWA needs additional water supply.

1. Groundwater levels have been diminishing due to the mining of groundwater (pumping the groundwater faster than it is recharging). ACWWA is seeing evidence of this. Due to this issue, our current supplies may not be adequate to supply current demands over time.
2. While ACWWA has long been developing various water supplies, including renewable water rights, due to the limitations of our physical location we simply cannot find all the water supplies we need within our service area to adequately serve all ACWWA customers; hence the reason for looking beyond our borders for additional water supplies.

3. What is renewable water?

Renewable water is a source that is continuously renewed within reasonable time spans by the hydrological cycle. An example of this would be annual snowmelt from the mountains or rainfall that feeds into the Colorado rivers, which feed irrigation ditches where our water rights are located.

Groundwater connected to surface water sources could be considered renewable if it is replenished as described above. However, the Denver Basin Aquifers can be several thousand feet below ground surface where hydrologic activity does not, for practical purposes, replenish these aquifers.

4. Where is the water coming from?

The newly acquired water rights are located in irrigation ditches within the South Platte River Basin. This water will be delivered to the Beebe Draw by pipeline or exchange on the South Platte River. It will then be stored in the Beebe Draw until it is pumped out and delivered to the ECCV Water Treatment Plant for treatment and delivery to ACWWA.

5. What is the Beebe Draw?

The Beebe Draw is a shallow underground aquifer system which was once an historic stream channel of the South Platte River. It is an ideal location to store water because of its geology – filled with sand and gravel.

6. Who are the parties involved in the project?

This is a regional project that involves ACWWA working with East Cherry Creek Valley Water and Sanitation District (ECCV) and United Water and Sanitation District (United) to develop and operate the components of the project.

7. What is East Cherry Creek Valley Water and Sanitation District (ECCV) and why are we working with it on this project?

ECCV is a neighboring water district that serves a portion of the City of Centennial and unincorporated Arapahoe County. It is located northeast of the ACWWA service area. In 2004, ECCV built a large pipeline from the Barr Lake area to its service area. At that time ACWWA saw the benefit of buying capacity in this pipeline and did purchase some capacity for future use. ACWWA strongly believes in the benefits of regional projects.

Some partnerships already in place include the Joint Water Purification Plant (JWPP), a partnership between ACWWA and Cottonwood Water and Sanitation District, and the Lone Tree Creek Reuse Facility, a partnership between ACWWA and the Inverness Water and Sanitation District. For the ACWWA Flow Project, joining forces with ECCV and United allows large projects to be built that benefit all three entities for much less cost than any one entity building them on their own.

8. What is United Water and Sanitation District (United) and why are we working with it on this project?

United is a Colorado Special District in Elbert County. Its role in this transaction will be to acquire the water rights to be transferred to ACWWA and build the necessary infrastructure to deliver the water to the ECCV Water Treatment Plant. United built Chambers Reservoir, a 1,400 acre-foot water storage facility, located near Chambers Road and E-470, which will help support ACWWA's non-potable irrigaton system.

9. ACWWA already has a Water Treatment Plant. Why do we need another one?

Due to the location of ACWWA's water rights on the South Platte River, it was most practical to treat the water closer to its source, then deliver to the ACWWA service area, treated water from the Project. This treatment will compliment ACWWA's Joint Water Purification Plant.

10. I’ve read articles about the reducing groundwater levels, how does that effect ACWWA?

Groundwater levels have been decreasing in the South Metro area for many years. ACWWA has experienced these same issues with our current water resources, in the Denver Basin Aquifer. For this reason, ACWWA has developed strategies to find alternative water resources as continued use of our Denver Basin Aquifer wells will become too costly due to declining water levels.

11. I don’t like the taste of my water right now, will this project make it better?

ACWWA is well aware that some of our customers are not satisfied with the taste and / or hardness levels of our current water supply. The water supply and treatment via the ACWWA Water Flow Project will result in higher water quality that should be noticeable to our customers.

12. Would we need this project if the ACWWA service area stopped growing?

Yes, the groundwater wells in which ACWWA currently relies on for much of its water supply are a diminishing, non-renewable water source. If not even a single new user was brought into the ACWWA service area, existing customers would still need to address this issue.

13. If renewable water is so important, why didn’t ACWWA acquire some before?

ACWWA has been acquiring renewable water rights for many years. Most of these renewable water rights are on Cherry Creek and its tributaries. To acquire additional renewable water rights ACWWA had to look beyond its service area.

In doing so, other issues and costs are associated with such water rights, including delivery, storage, and even treatment, if necessary. It was to ACWWA’s advantage to wait until other entities were ready to partner on such facilities such as ECCV and United, which allowed ACWWA to take advantage of economies of scale.

14. Will the project only serve new development?

No, the renewable water derived from this project will serve the demand from existing customers as well.

15. Does the additional water from this project mean an end to watering restrictions at ACWWA?

Although the additional water rights acquired in this project will secure a long-term reliable water supply, it does not change the fact that we live in a semi-arid climate where severe droughts like what was seen in 2002 can happen.

Water supply availability and sometimes operational issues can require watering restrictions. ACWWA’s water supply will still be managed as efficiently as possible in order to keep costs down. As this project and others develop, and climactic conditions are assessed, ACWWA will evaluate the issues and make determinations as necessary.

16. When will ACWWA Customers see water from the ACWWA Flow Project?

In 2013, ACWWA started taking delivery from this Project. Currently about one-third of ACWWA's water supply comes from the ACWWA Flow Project.

17. How will this project impact my property value?

Obviously ACWWA doesn’t have direct control over property values in the area, however, with increased discussion in the legislature regarding how a secure water supply or lack thereof can impact property values, ACWWA’s ability to secure a water supply for its customers will likely reflect positively on property values.

18. Will this project help us get through a drought?

Yes, this project increases the diversification of ACWWA’s water portfolio. ACWWA will have water rights in the middle and lower South Platte River area, Cherry Creek, groundwater and multiple storage reservoirs. Since the severity of drought conditions generally vary by river basins in Colorado, having a diverse portfolio will give us the best opportunity to weather drought conditions.

19. How will this affect ACWWA’s rates and fees?

All ACWWA customer's water bills reflect a Water System Investment Fee of $26.50 per month per tap equivalent. The use of a water fee is common practice among water districts across Colorado to retire project costs.

There may be periodic rate and fee adjustments in the future, however, by securing a renewable water source now, ACWWA customers will not be exposed to the potential higher prices for renewable water acquisition in the future.