RESPEC PROJECT

The Triview Metropolitan District has been tackling the issue of depleting water resources in Northern El Paso County. As the population grows, the Denver Basin Aquifer, which is the primary source of water for the area, is being depleted at a faster rate than can be replenished. To address this issue, the district has purchased water rights from the renewable Arkansas River source, located an hour away from Northern El Paso County.

However, transporting water from this source to Triview’s existing and new storage tanks presents a challenge. To overcome this challenge, the district has collaborated with RESPEC to plan and implement the Northern Delivery System project. The project involves designing and constructing a booster pump station and a 7-mile pipeline to transport the water from Colorado Springs Utilities’ storage tank to Triview’s storage tanks. RESPEC provided all routing, permitting, hydraulic analysis, and design for the new facilities.

RESPEC also provided environmental services for this project. The project area lies adjacent to a critical habitat for a federally threatened species, Preble’s meadow jumping mouse, and crosses suitable foraging habitat for the mouse. RESPEC engineers and biologists worked together to adjust the impact area to avoid the critical habitat. Additionally, this team consulted with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to implement conservation measures for the project’s construction to prevent detrimental impacts to this species.

The Northern Delivery System project will supply 4 million gallons of treated renewable water to Triview daily, reducing the area’s dependence on nonrenewable water sources and ensuring a sustainable and clean water supply for years to come. The project also highlights a beneficial approach to regionalizing water management, as it leverages existing infrastructure to deliver water efficiently, significantly reducing costs. As water scarcity becomes increasingly important nationwide, this project serves as a model for other districts to implement and ensure a sustainable water supply for their communities.