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Dominion Water & Sanitation outlines renewable supplies, pipelines and wastewater plant; ARPA funds and diversion planned
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Summary
Dominion Water & Sanitation District presented its service area, supply portfolio and major projects including the Eastern Regional Pipeline, a South Platte diversion and a Chatfield Basin wastewater reclamation facility. Dominion said ARPA funding will help build a regional wastewater plant and estimated project timelines and costs.
Dominion Water and Sanitation District General Manager Andrea Cole briefed the Douglas County Water Commission on March 24 about Dominion’s water supply portfolio, ongoing infrastructure projects and planned regional wastewater treatment, including grants and timelines.
Cole said Dominion is a wholesale water and wastewater provider for northwest Douglas County, formed in February 2004, serving Sterling Ranch and neighboring communities. Dominion said it relies on a mix of supplies: two firm contracts with the City of Aurora (totaling 480 acre‑feet annually), 1,325 acre‑feet of South Metro WISE allocations (interruptible), agreements that firm 700 acre‑feet with Castle Rock and planned Cherokee Ranch groundwater (625 acre‑feet) for firming, plus junior South Platte rights and planned reusable return flows at buildout.
Cole described existing and planned infrastructure: the 11‑mile Eastern Regional Pipeline (30‑inch diameter) that will carry WISE deliveries into northwest Douglas County and is being disinfected for operations expected to begin in May; a 2.0 million‑gallon high‑zone tank and a ~1.0 million‑gallon low‑zone tank for distribution; and multiple turnout points for future connections. Dominion is constructing a Filing 7 lift station and force main now.
On wastewater and reuse, Cole said Dominion has a progressive design‑build contract with PCL and Stantec to construct the Chatfield Basin Water Reclamation Facility, a 0.9 MGD membrane‑bioreactor plant funded in part by a $20 million ARPA contribution from Douglas County. Cole gave an estimated project cost of $34 million for the plant and said construction will begin in summer 2025 with full operation targeted for January 2028. Dominion also received a CWCB grant of $866,000 to advance design of a South Platte diversion, and estimates the diversion/pump station/pipeline project cost at $26 million with construction targeted for completion by 2029.
Cole said the diversion, located downstream of the wastewater plant site, is critical to capture return flows and to take advantage of Dominion’s adjudicated South Platte junior rights (25 cfs) and 500 acre‑feet of storage in Chatfield Reservoir. Dominion also noted the project requires federal permits, including Clean Water Act Section 404 and Section 408 permits, and that permitting is a major schedule risk.
She described Dominion’s focus on demand management and efficiency: Sterling Ranch has achieved low indoor per‑household use (about 0.13 acre‑feet per single‑family equivalent indoor use) and a total target near 0.2 acre‑feet per year per single‑family equivalent. Tools include indoor/outdoor dual meters, tiered water budgets, smart irrigation controllers and strict landscaping standards. Dominion is also piloting regional rainwater harvesting and PFAS treatment on the wastewater side.
Commissioners asked about the status of Cherokee Ranch groundwater rights (Cole said they are deeded and decreed), the Corps’ minimum streamflow obligations downstream of Strontia (Cole described a 2012 amendment establishing summer/winter flows), and the firming arrangements with Castle Rock and Aurora. Cole said Aurora supplies are delivered through the Rampart system now and will be delivered via the river once Dominion’s diversion is online.
Cole summarized near‑term construction and permitting steps: disinfecting the Eastern Regional Pipeline now, starting water deliveries in May, completing the South Platte diversion 60% design in 2025 with CWCB support, starting the regional wastewater plant progressive design‑build construction in summer 2025 and targeting diversion construction by 2029. She said the district’s long‑term portfolio at buildout is modeled at about 3,986 acre‑feet per year including reusable return flows (about 1,529 acre‑feet per year assumed at buildout).
