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Castle Rock must learn to conserve to ensure future needs can be met
If Castle Rock residents do not change their groundwater guzzling ways, in 50 years the deep Denver Basin aquifers the town relies upon will drop so low that it will cost upward of $250 million just to supply the town's basic water needs.
By By:Alex C. Pasquariello
If Castle Rock residents do not change their groundwater guzzling ways, in 50 years the deep Denver Basin aquifers the town relies upon will drop so low that it will cost upward of $250 million just to supply the town's basic water needs.
Even if Castle Rock does spend the money to deepen 150 existing wells and drill 80 new wells it still may not be able to meet demand in peak summer months, according to a groundwater study by environmental engineering firm CH2M Hill.
Castle Rock is almost entirely dependent upon groundwater pumped from declining deep Denver Basin aquifers, but Utilities Director Ron Redd is not playing Chicken Little with the new study.
"This groundwater model demonstrates what happens if we maintain the status quo and the town has already begun taking steps to make sure that doesn't happen," Redd said.
The town is updating the Water Resource Master Plan to assure long-term, sustainable water supplies, and the groundwater model is another piece in the water management puzzle, Redd said.
The Strategic Planning Advisory Committee, a group of residents, developers, scientists and county representatives helping the town establish a community-endorsed, long-term water plan, began meeting last October.
The committee has targeted water conservation as a key element to the master plan, said Billie Owens, Castle Rock utilities analyst.
"Conserved water is the most available resource to the town and the water resource over which the town has the most control," Owens said. "In light of the study we need to recognize that conservation could make a huge difference on the life of the aquifers and the cost of infrastructure."
The study assumes that Castle Rock makes no changes in water use and supply strategies. For instance, it assumes the town's consumption average of 165 gallons of water per person per day will go unchanged.
But the SPAC conservation subgroup has already examined a plan that will use education, economic incentives and best management practices to lower the average daily usage to between 145 and 135 gallons per person per day, Owens said.
The study also assumes that peak summer consumption is three to four times higher than winter use, Redd said. Water used for irrigation of landscaping is the primary use in Castle Rock.
The town council has already begun to address these issues, Redd said. In October the council passed an ordinance forbidding homeowners associations from setting minimum grass requirements. It also allows homeowners to remove grass and replace it with water-conscious landscaping without repercussions.
The conservation subgroup is also reviewing preliminary plans for the development of "The Castle Rock Look," a landscaping approach encouraging beauty, function and water conservation, Owens said.
"The Castle Rock look values the natural setting that attracted us to this town in the first place," she said. "Within that idea it creates a plan for sustainable, attractive landscapes that conserve water."
The study also assumes that the town will continue to rely almost exclusively on groundwater and will not employ reuse methods.
Diversifying the town's water portfolio has been one of Redd's priorities since he signed on in November 2001. But Castle Rock is literally at the end of the pipeline and water is among the most expensive commodities to acquire, store and move.
Castle Rock has signed on as a key member of the South Metro Water Authority, a group of 12 water providers in south metro Denver, including Centennial Water and East Cherry Creek Valley Water and Sanitation departments.
The consortium will help regional water suppliers pool the money and power required to get major water projects moving, Redd said.
"The study's results underscore the importance of the South Metro Water Authority," he said. "It can take decades to finance, plan and build water supply projects and Castle Rock will have to participate in a larger group to amass the money and political power to move those forward."
There is one part of the study for which water planners cannot mitigate, Redd said.
The study assumes the town will continue to grow at a 5 percent rate resulting in build-out in 2027. With a population of 35,000 Castle Rock is at about a third of build out and could someday support a population hovering around 100,000.
Castle Rock is in a unique position as a municipal government and water supplier, Redd said. Water and land use are inter-related but the utilities department has tried to focus on water supply issues.
Growth issues are the domain of the Castle Rock Town Council and Development Services Department, Redd said. For instance the town requires developers to be able to supply each new home for at least 200 years.
"This study tells us that the aquifer is draining with or without future growth in Castle Rock, making water and growth separate issues," Redd said. "This study is a call to change the status quo when it comes to the way this town thinks about and manages water."
Even if Castle Rock does spend the money to deepen 150 existing wells and drill 80 new wells it still may not be able to meet demand in peak summer months, according to a groundwater study by environmental engineering firm CH2M Hill.
Castle Rock is almost entirely dependent upon groundwater pumped from declining deep Denver Basin aquifers, but Utilities Director Ron Redd is not playing Chicken Little with the new study.
"This groundwater model demonstrates what happens if we maintain the status quo and the town has already begun taking steps to make sure that doesn't happen," Redd said.
The town is updating the Water Resource Master Plan to assure long-term, sustainable water supplies, and the groundwater model is another piece in the water management puzzle, Redd said.
The Strategic Planning Advisory Committee, a group of residents, developers, scientists and county representatives helping the town establish a community-endorsed, long-term water plan, began meeting last October.
The committee has targeted water conservation as a key element to the master plan, said Billie Owens, Castle Rock utilities analyst.
"Conserved water is the most available resource to the town and the water resource over which the town has the most control," Owens said. "In light of the study we need to recognize that conservation could make a huge difference on the life of the aquifers and the cost of infrastructure."
The study assumes that Castle Rock makes no changes in water use and supply strategies. For instance, it assumes the town's consumption average of 165 gallons of water per person per day will go unchanged.
But the SPAC conservation subgroup has already examined a plan that will use education, economic incentives and best management practices to lower the average daily usage to between 145 and 135 gallons per person per day, Owens said.
The study also assumes that peak summer consumption is three to four times higher than winter use, Redd said. Water used for irrigation of landscaping is the primary use in Castle Rock.
The town council has already begun to address these issues, Redd said. In October the council passed an ordinance forbidding homeowners associations from setting minimum grass requirements. It also allows homeowners to remove grass and replace it with water-conscious landscaping without repercussions.
The conservation subgroup is also reviewing preliminary plans for the development of "The Castle Rock Look," a landscaping approach encouraging beauty, function and water conservation, Owens said.
"The Castle Rock look values the natural setting that attracted us to this town in the first place," she said. "Within that idea it creates a plan for sustainable, attractive landscapes that conserve water."
The study also assumes that the town will continue to rely almost exclusively on groundwater and will not employ reuse methods.
Diversifying the town's water portfolio has been one of Redd's priorities since he signed on in November 2001. But Castle Rock is literally at the end of the pipeline and water is among the most expensive commodities to acquire, store and move.
Castle Rock has signed on as a key member of the South Metro Water Authority, a group of 12 water providers in south metro Denver, including Centennial Water and East Cherry Creek Valley Water and Sanitation departments.
The consortium will help regional water suppliers pool the money and power required to get major water projects moving, Redd said.
"The study's results underscore the importance of the South Metro Water Authority," he said. "It can take decades to finance, plan and build water supply projects and Castle Rock will have to participate in a larger group to amass the money and political power to move those forward."
There is one part of the study for which water planners cannot mitigate, Redd said.
The study assumes the town will continue to grow at a 5 percent rate resulting in build-out in 2027. With a population of 35,000 Castle Rock is at about a third of build out and could someday support a population hovering around 100,000.
Castle Rock is in a unique position as a municipal government and water supplier, Redd said. Water and land use are inter-related but the utilities department has tried to focus on water supply issues.
Growth issues are the domain of the Castle Rock Town Council and Development Services Department, Redd said. For instance the town requires developers to be able to supply each new home for at least 200 years.
"This study tells us that the aquifer is draining with or without future growth in Castle Rock, making water and growth separate issues," Redd said. "This study is a call to change the status quo when it comes to the way this town thinks about and manages water."
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