Team Established to Examine
South Platte Management Alternatives
ROCKY MOUNTAIN WATER JULY 2019 | 39
OF SPECIAL NOTE
THE LOWER SOUTH
Platte Water Con-servancy
District
and other stakeholders
have chosen Brown and
Caldwell to lead the South
Platte Regional Water
Development Study.
Colorado is expected
to add three million
new residents by 2050
and was the seventh
fastest-growing state in
2018 according to the
U.S. Census Bureau. In
the rain shadow of the
Rocky Mountains, the
South Platte River Basin
is home to most of the
state’s population and
is challenged with the
greatest projected water
supply gap of any of Colorado’s river basins.
The study will advance the South Platte Regional Water
Development Concept, an initiative to bring municipal,
environmental, and agricultural stakeholders together in new
ways to manage and use the water supply more effectively. It is
potentially a pivotal step toward achieving the goals of the South
Platte Basin Implementation Plan (southplattebasin.com) and
Colorado’s Water Plan (www.colorado.gov/cowaterplan).
The analysis will focus on partner outreach and the identification
of supply alternatives that consider timing, amount, and location
of stakeholder water needs, possible organizational structures,
water treatment strategies, and other drivers deemed critical to
the potential success of the project. The final report will equip
water providers with the information required to advance the
concept in a collaborative and transparent way.
Initial concepts to be studied include multiple, operationally
linked storage facilities capable of storing more than
150,000 acre-feet of water and additional conveyance
capacity strategically positioned throughout the basin.
This infrastructure network will allow storage, reuse, and
exchange of several water types including unappropriated
native flow, reusable supplies, and agricultural water derived
from alternative transfer methods. Water will be delivered
to meet diverse municipal, agricultural, environmental, and
recreational needs.
“The study is a key driver to conserving, protecting, and
enhancing water supplies as the basin continues to experience
unprecedented growth and subsequent supply challenges,”
said Joe Frank, Lower South Platte Water Conservancy District
General Manager.
Directing a multi-disciplinary team, Brown and Caldwell
will provide project oversight, coordinate a 60-strong
stakeholder task force, evaluate agricultural requirements,
and lead modeling. Stantec will integrate results of the South
Platte Storage Study, a 2017 report detailing multi-purpose
water storage possibilities in the Lower South Platte River
basin. Cost estimating, organization structuring, and water
treatment will also be part of Stantec’s report. Leonard Rice
Engineers will refine municipal, industrial, environmental,
and recreational demands and support modeling. Sigler
Communications has been engaged for stakeholder
outreach, and the team will be advised by Doug Robotham
and attorneys from Holland & Hart.
“This project is an opportunity for diverse stakeholder
collaboration and to develop implementable solutions to secure
Colorado’s future water supply,” said Matt Lindburg, Brown
and Caldwell Project Manager. “Our talented team is excited
to leverage our collective expertise and move this important
project forward for the betterment of Colorado’s residents and
businesses.”
Project kickoff commenced in March with a draft of the final
study scheduled for delivery within a year.
/cowaterplan
