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Two water rights, Castle Pines North
Special to the News-Press
The Castle Pines North Metropolitan District has recently acquired 365 acre-feet of renewable water through the acquisition of two water rights.
The first water right acquisition is a water right known as the Hock Hocking Mine, which generates approximately 330 acre-feet of water. This water is diverted near Fairplay and flows down the Upper South Platte reservoir into Chatfield Reservoir. This water right was previously owned by the Mount Carbon Metropolitan District.
“Given its strategic location and the fact that this water right produces a consistent flow throughout both the winter and summer months make it a unique asset,” Bruce Thompson, board member said. “This water right is considered non-tributary water and as such can be used and reused to extinction.”
At the district’s board meeting on Oct. 19, the board of directors also approved the acquisition of 25 shares of the Fulton Irrigation Company. This right is one of the most senior rights on the lower South Platte River and is diverted from the South Platte River near Brighton.
On an average annual basis these shares are projected to yield approximately 35 acre-feet of water. The district is currently performing diligence on approximately 60 additional shares of the Fulton Irrigation Company and hopes to close those purchases by the end of this year.
In addition to these recent purchases the district acquired approximately 253 acre-feet of senior water rights in April 2009 along with approximately 280 acres of farmland that will be used by the district to maintain the historic use of these agricultural shares until they have been converted from agricultural use to municipal use.
This conversion process is estimated to take approximately five years as the water rights proceed through water court.
“If the district is successful in closing the remaining 60 shares of Fulton Irrigation Company rights the district will have acquired approximately 712 acre-feet of renewable water,” James McGrady, district general manager said. “Given the fact that all of this water can be used and reused to extinction, this water will yield to the District approximately 1,050 acre-feet of water which represents approximately 60 percent of the District’s overall annual water demand.”
According to McGrady the next steps will be to develop contractual relationships with Aurora, Denver, and other members of the South Metro Water Supply Authority to move this water to the Castle Pines North community.
For further information regarding these acquisitions or the District’s renewable water plan contact the District’s General Manager, James McGrady, at 303-688-8550.
What is an acre-foot?
An acre-foot is a unit of volume commonly used in the United States in reference to large-scale water resources, such as reservoirs, aqueducts, canals, sewer flow capacity, and river flows.
It is defined by the volume of one acre of surface area to a depth of one foot.
1.0 acre-foot = 325,851 gallons, 0.7 acre-foot = 228,095 gallons
On a daily basis, 0.7 acre -foot works out to be 625 gallons per day.
At current American rates of consumption, on average 1.0 acre-foot of water is enough to meet the industrial and municipal demands of four people for a year.
The Castle Pines North Metropolitan District has recently acquired 365 acre-feet of renewable water through the acquisition of two water rights.
The first water right acquisition is a water right known as the Hock Hocking Mine, which generates approximately 330 acre-feet of water. This water is diverted near Fairplay and flows down the Upper South Platte reservoir into Chatfield Reservoir. This water right was previously owned by the Mount Carbon Metropolitan District.
“Given its strategic location and the fact that this water right produces a consistent flow throughout both the winter and summer months make it a unique asset,” Bruce Thompson, board member said. “This water right is considered non-tributary water and as such can be used and reused to extinction.”
At the district’s board meeting on Oct. 19, the board of directors also approved the acquisition of 25 shares of the Fulton Irrigation Company. This right is one of the most senior rights on the lower South Platte River and is diverted from the South Platte River near Brighton.
On an average annual basis these shares are projected to yield approximately 35 acre-feet of water. The district is currently performing diligence on approximately 60 additional shares of the Fulton Irrigation Company and hopes to close those purchases by the end of this year.
In addition to these recent purchases the district acquired approximately 253 acre-feet of senior water rights in April 2009 along with approximately 280 acres of farmland that will be used by the district to maintain the historic use of these agricultural shares until they have been converted from agricultural use to municipal use.
This conversion process is estimated to take approximately five years as the water rights proceed through water court.
“If the district is successful in closing the remaining 60 shares of Fulton Irrigation Company rights the district will have acquired approximately 712 acre-feet of renewable water,” James McGrady, district general manager said. “Given the fact that all of this water can be used and reused to extinction, this water will yield to the District approximately 1,050 acre-feet of water which represents approximately 60 percent of the District’s overall annual water demand.”
According to McGrady the next steps will be to develop contractual relationships with Aurora, Denver, and other members of the South Metro Water Supply Authority to move this water to the Castle Pines North community.
For further information regarding these acquisitions or the District’s renewable water plan contact the District’s General Manager, James McGrady, at 303-688-8550.
What is an acre-foot?
An acre-foot is a unit of volume commonly used in the United States in reference to large-scale water resources, such as reservoirs, aqueducts, canals, sewer flow capacity, and river flows.
It is defined by the volume of one acre of surface area to a depth of one foot.
1.0 acre-foot = 325,851 gallons, 0.7 acre-foot = 228,095 gallons
On a daily basis, 0.7 acre -foot works out to be 625 gallons per day.
At current American rates of consumption, on average 1.0 acre-foot of water is enough to meet the industrial and municipal demands of four people for a year.
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