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| 7/17/2009 10:37:00 AM | Email this article • Print this article |
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| Pipeline presentation
John McMichael, managing planner for Conifer Water LLC, explains the progress of completing a water and sewer pipeline between Bailey and Conifer to the Center of Colorado Water Conservancy District’s board members at the district’s July meeting held at the Shawnee Community Center. (Photo by Lynda James/The Flume) |
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Bailey-Conifer water pipeline delayed
Mandatory permit slows timeline
Conifer Water LLC's plans to build a drinking water and wastewater delivery system between Bailey and Conifer have been delayed.
The plans were delayed due to the company needing a Park County Special Use 1041 permit, according to Conifer Water LLC Managing Partner John McMichael.
McMichael told the Center of Colorado Water Conservancy District board members at their July meeting that construction of the pipeline will begin in November if the company obtains the Park County 1041 permit by then.
The Park County 1041 permit application has been completed but not yet filed with Park County. McMichael said obtaining additional funding partners should be completed in July. Then the application and the $25,000 fee would be submitted.
The company plans on taking 3.9 cubic feet per second of water out of the North Fork of the South Platte at a diversion point in Bailey. That water is not part of Bailey Water and Sanitation District's decreed water rights.
McMichael said the company is negotiating with the Bailey Water and Sanitation District to become a wastewater customer. The tap fee would be enough for the district to build a new state of the art treatment facility to process wastewater, similar to the one at the new Safeway-anchored Conifer Town Center, McMichael said.
He estimated a new facility would cost about $3.5 million to treat 500,000 gallons of wastewater per day.
At the Center of Colorado Water Conservancy District meeting, McMichael said that Conifer Water did not plan to obtain water rights but would use its customers' water rights and augmentation plans.
The company would only service water and sanitation districts as customers. McMichael said the goal is to get districts off water wells as a source of water and use surface water instead. Each district would remove solids from the wastewater, and any final treatment needed would be accomplished at the new Bailey wastewater treatment plant.
Each district would need to change its source of water, augmentation plan and discharge point through water court. Then Conifer Water would administer the new augmentation plans.
Center of Colorado Water Conservancy District's attorney, Jim Culichia, told McMichael that in his opinion, Conifer Water would need its own water augmentation plan.
Center of Colorado board member Lisa McVicker asked if the company had considered treating the wastewater for re-use.
McMichael answered "no," because the company would need to acquire additional augmentation water to reuse the wastewater.
McMichael said the company would need to construct a water storage tank somewhere along the 13.3-mile route as well as lift stations for eight-inch diameter water and sewer pipelines. The company is currently considering land on Richmond Hill for a storage tank. A construction permit would be needed from Jefferson County for the storage tank.
Burke McHugh, chief executive officer for Conifer Water, said the initial money needed for the project was estimated at $24 million. Of that, $18 million would be obtained through debt and $6 million from the company. He did not say whether the money would be obtained through loans, bonds or certificates of participation (a type of municipal bond often used to finance capital improvement projects or equipment).
McHugh said the project was a 15- to 30-year plan. "In the long run, it will be better than adding new wells (to serve developments)," McHugh said.
McMichael said Conifer Water had presented contracts to five current water and sanitation districts, two developers who had some type of county preliminary approval and to the Magness Ranch.
Two districts are Conifer Water and Sanitation, which provides water and sewer to the Conifer Town Center, and Aspen Park Water and Sanitation District, which serves the King Soopers-anchored shopping center in Aspen Park.
McMichael said if Aspen Park came online, an additional 1.5 miles of water and sewer pipelines would be laid.
Other districts presented with contracts have been Will-O-Wisp, Deer Creek Corners and Kings Valley, said McMichael.
The two developers he mentioned are Ron Lewis, who plans a Jefferson County development at Shaffers Crossing between Pine Junction and Conifer, and David Crane, who is part- owner of the proposed Lone Rock development northeast of Crow Hill in Park County.
McMichael said no contracts had been signed yet because potential customers were waiting on the completion of Conifer Water's financing of the project.
The Flume spoke with two potential customers, Will-O-Wisp and Conifer Town Center.
Will-O-Wisp Metro District President Rick Angelica said the district had told McMichael that it was not interested for several reasons.
First the district had plenty of water, including surface water. The district had no interest in spending money to change its water source, discharge point and water augmentation plan in water court.
It has no intention of giving the control of its water rights and augmentation plan to a for-profit company.
Lastly, the contract Conifer Water offered the district would increase the cost of providing water and sewer to district customers six to ten times over Will-O-Wisp's current cost.
"I told them 'You're about five years too late'," Angelica told The Flume.
Likewise, Conifer Town Center developer David Coppfer told The Flume, "We have enough water. The only way the (water and sanitation) district would be interested is if other developments in the area wanted the district to expand to provide service to them."
Bailey Water and Sanitation District President Chip Thomas told The Flume that Conifer Water had initial discussions with that district about possibly using its water treatment plant and discharge point. "But nothing has happened for months," Thomas said.
He referred The Flume to Bailey Water and Sanitation's administrator, Judy Kirby.
"Bailey Water has not heard or seen anything from Conifer Water for a couple of months," Kirb said.
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