Colorado Springs Utilities Almost Done With Biggest Project Ever

A final tunnel for a Colorado Springs Utilities water pipeline is almost completed, potentially ensuring the water supply beyond 2040.

"A giant teeth-gnashing machine is boring its way 85 feet under Interstate 25, two sets of railroad tracks and Fountain Creek. The machine is cutting a 1-mile long tunnel about 20 miles south of downtown Colorado Springs for a section of a massive pipeline project that will carry millions of gallons of water from the Pueblo Reservoir to Colorado Springs," the Colorado Springs Gazette recently reported.

This is the biggest project by Colorado Springs Utilities ever, according to the report. "The tunnel is scheduled to be completed in the first three months of 2015. Colorado Springs Utilities says the system could be ready to operate in 2016 after engineers complete tests," the Associated Press reported.

Brian Whitehead, Colorado Springs Utilities project manager, provided an update on the $841 million project, which was funded by a series of rate hikes on customer bills.

"This is the last section of the pipe to be constructed and the most complex part," he said, per the Gazette. "There are risks - it's not something anyone can do."

The pipeline connects to a water treatment plant currently being built. It is the utility's seventh water plant.

"The domed $124 million water treatment facility is nearly the size of a football field and is expected to be completed in mid-July. Initially, the plant will treat about 10 million gallons of water per day but could treat as much as 50 million gallons a day, depending on demand," the report said.

Jay Hardison, Colorado Springs Utilities water treatment plant project manager, explained that the project is designed to ensure the utility's water supply until 2040, if not beyond that, according to the report.

The plant allows for "expansion with two additional treatment tanks, which would allow the plant to treat up to 150 million gallons of water per day, Hardison said. [When built out, the project] is expected to double Utilities current water capacity," the report said.

The goal of the project?

"Right now it's creating reliability and allows for future demand," Hardison said, per the report. 

The region faces drought and other concerns. "Southern Colorado’s future requires water. El Paso County’s population will grow 1.9 percent a year through 2030, or 350,000 more people. The project partners already own rights to sufficient water, but need a delivery system to transport it," according to the project's website.