Englewood board approves City Ditch pipeline contracts, Littleton easements and Xcel crossings

The Englewood Water & Sewer Board on June 10 approved a set of agreements and construction contracts to advance the City Ditch piping project for Reaches 1, 3 and 4, and signed off on Xcel Energy crossings needed for both the Santa Fe Park development and for City Ditch piping work in Reach 3.

The board voted to accept crossing agreements with Xcel Energy and temporary construction easements that will allow Xcel to install new gas lines where the pipeline will cross the City Ditch. Stephanie Ellis, an engineer with Inglewood Utilities, told the board Xcel will maintain a minimum vertical separation of 1.5 feet between the new gas lines and the ditch and will notify the city prior to construction so staff can inspect the work as needed.

The board also approved multiple agreements with the City of Littleton and BNSF Railway tied to piping the ditch in Reach 3. Ellis said the City of Littleton will receive a quitclaim deed for a small existing open-channel portion of the ditch in Reach 3 so Littleton can retain a segment of the overhead flume for historical commemoration. As part of the intergovernmental agreements, Littleton requested slope stabilization at the abandoned channel adjacent to private properties and asked the city to remove the overhead flume over Slaughterhouse Gulch while preserving a section for historical display.

Ellis said the Littleton agreements include: a temporary construction easement to allow staging and contractor access on Littleton property during construction; a relinquishment and grant of easements that ends the city’s existing easement alignment and establishes a new permanent easement for the piped alignment in Reach 3; an intergovernmental agreement that includes a tree mitigation fee of $216,500 payable to Littleton; and a quitclaim deed effective after the new pipeline is operating. Construction work that will cross BNSF property requires a temporary occupancy permit from BNSF with standard fees and railroad protective insurance; Ellis said the permit will also require flagging and an inspector/coordinator as is common for work on railroad property.

For construction, Ellis recommended awarding the Reaches 3 and 4 construction contract to Hudick Excavating Inc. (HEI), which submitted the lowest total proposal among five bidders and offered prices for supplemental services. The selection committee unanimously recommended HEI based on price, relevant experience and schedule. Ellis stated the proposed contract amount is $6,106,861 and that staff is requesting a 10% staff-managed contingency, yielding a total project authorization of $6,717,547. She said that number includes a subsequent request from Littleton to include Slaughterhouse Gulch flume demolition, which was not in the original RFP.

Ellis and board members discussed the condition of overhead flumes used to convey ditch water across streams (for example, Big Dry Creek in Bellevue Park). Ellis said the flumes remain functional but are old and deteriorating; Littleton inspected a scour area on one foundation and the city’s contractor repaired it. Board members and staff said the long-term plan is to remove some flumes as sections are piped and, where feasible and budgeted, to route the ditch through pipes so the flume structures are no longer needed.

The board separately approved a contract for Reach 1 improvements with QP Services. Ellis said Reach 1 (in Littleton, near Santa Fe and Mineral) still has several open-channel segments, an overhead flume that requires structural repairs, a four-bay area adjacent to the McClellan pump station and a partially abandoned flume used for conveyance. QP Services, a prequalified contractor, was proposed at $229,880; with a 10% staff-managed contingency the total authorization presented to the board was approximately $252,000 (as stated at the meeting).

Board members voted to approve the crossing agreements with Xcel Energy, the Littleton and BNSF easements and permits, the HEI construction contract recommendation for Reaches 3 and 4 (with the requested contingency/authorization), and the Reach 1 contract with QP Services. All motions carried by voice vote.

Why this matters: piping City Ditch is central to Englewood’s utility strategy to improve raw water quality delivered to the Allen Water Treatment Plant, reduce reliance on pumped South Platte River water, and address taste, odor and hardness issues. The contracts, easements and coordination with Littleton and BNSF are necessary construction-stage steps for putting Reaches 1, 3 and 4 underground and for stabilizing the abandoned open channel segments that border private property.

Board members said the design and contracting timeline required extended negotiation (including a prior CMGC arrangement) to get competitive bids. City staff said moving to a lower bid for construction reduced projected project costs substantially compared with earlier estimates under a different delivery approach, and will help the utility’s capital financing plan.

The board did not set construction start dates in the public discussion for each contract, but staff said Reach 3 work within Littleton is planned to begin in the summer and that Littleton expected to take related agreements to its council in July.