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Group bids on water rights
South metro water authorities quickly grouped together and last week submitted a bid on deadline to buy renewable water sources from the City of Thornton.
By By: Christine McManus
South metro water authorities quickly grouped together and last week submitted a bid on deadline to buy renewable water sources from the City of Thornton.
"There's going to be a lot of competition for this water," said Peter Binney, program manager for the South Metro Water Supply Study Board. "The fact that these south metro water providers pulled together a bid in six weeks shows a maturing of their understanding of the future of water."
Thornton, on Denver's northern boundary, unexpectedly announced this autumn that it potentially would auction an annual renewable supply of 8,300 acre-feet of water.
That amount of water could serve approximately 14,000 households on an annual basis, water planners said. An average household uses six-tenths of an acre-foot per year.
The potential auction is the largest sale of renewable water rights in the region in several decades.
Bids were due Friday. Aurora, Northglenn, Brighton, Lakewood, Englewood and Wheat Ridge are some of the other municipalities expected to bid. The bids are confidential at this point, but estimates range from $50-$125 million for the water rights, which originate in South Park.
South metro water providers in Highlands Ranch, Castle Rock, Castle Pines North, Roxborough, the Pinery, Cottonwood, the East Cherry Creek Valley and Inverness this month signed a binding participation agreement.
Each subscribed to proportionally pay for and receive a percentage of the potential water rights if the group's bid wins.
For example, Castle Rock would pay 20 percent of the cost and eventually receive 20 percent of the water rights, said Castle Rock Mayor Herb Teets.
"We've got an obligation to future generations to try to get some renewable water resources," Teets said. "Our goal is to have 50 percent of the town's supply be renewable water by 2020. That's not much time in the water business."
The south metro water providers are part of a group, the Douglas County Water Resource Authority, which has been working together for several years. Not all members of the authority joined in the south metro bid.
Whether the south metro bid wins or is surpassed, the exercise of putting the bid together shows the group's solidarity to Denver Water and the Western Slope, Binney said.
The south metro bid has the advantage in that it can promise the return flows that Thornton wants in addition to money, Binney said.
Centennial Water and Sanitation District Manager John Hendrick said a successful bid would help Highlands Ranch's renewable supply even more. Highlands Ranch has the most renewable water sources, with 90 percent of its supply coming from the South Platte and other renewable sources, Hendrick said.
"There's going to be a lot of competition for this water," said Peter Binney, program manager for the South Metro Water Supply Study Board. "The fact that these south metro water providers pulled together a bid in six weeks shows a maturing of their understanding of the future of water."
Thornton, on Denver's northern boundary, unexpectedly announced this autumn that it potentially would auction an annual renewable supply of 8,300 acre-feet of water.
That amount of water could serve approximately 14,000 households on an annual basis, water planners said. An average household uses six-tenths of an acre-foot per year.
The potential auction is the largest sale of renewable water rights in the region in several decades.
Bids were due Friday. Aurora, Northglenn, Brighton, Lakewood, Englewood and Wheat Ridge are some of the other municipalities expected to bid. The bids are confidential at this point, but estimates range from $50-$125 million for the water rights, which originate in South Park.
South metro water providers in Highlands Ranch, Castle Rock, Castle Pines North, Roxborough, the Pinery, Cottonwood, the East Cherry Creek Valley and Inverness this month signed a binding participation agreement.
Each subscribed to proportionally pay for and receive a percentage of the potential water rights if the group's bid wins.
For example, Castle Rock would pay 20 percent of the cost and eventually receive 20 percent of the water rights, said Castle Rock Mayor Herb Teets.
"We've got an obligation to future generations to try to get some renewable water resources," Teets said. "Our goal is to have 50 percent of the town's supply be renewable water by 2020. That's not much time in the water business."
The south metro water providers are part of a group, the Douglas County Water Resource Authority, which has been working together for several years. Not all members of the authority joined in the south metro bid.
Whether the south metro bid wins or is surpassed, the exercise of putting the bid together shows the group's solidarity to Denver Water and the Western Slope, Binney said.
The south metro bid has the advantage in that it can promise the return flows that Thornton wants in addition to money, Binney said.
Centennial Water and Sanitation District Manager John Hendrick said a successful bid would help Highlands Ranch's renewable supply even more. Highlands Ranch has the most renewable water sources, with 90 percent of its supply coming from the South Platte and other renewable sources, Hendrick said.
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