Sheridan utilities staff: water, wastewater and landfill capacity adequate for decades but planning needed

Utilities Director Dan Roberts presented an update on Sheridan’s utility service potential at the March 24 study session, outlining projections for wastewater, water supply and landfill capacity and the planning work that will be required as the city grows.

Roberts said city planning documents and recent master plans show the systems can serve the projected growth for many decades. "Sheridan historically grows at about 1%," Roberts said, noting that the city’s steady growth makes long-range planning more predictable. He told council that the recently adopted wastewater system master plan projects treatment capacity adequate at least through 2052 and that a typical planning trigger to add capacity occurs when systems approach about 80% of capacity — a threshold Roberts said could come into play around 2047 for wastewater.

On water, Roberts said the water system has capacity to serve roughly 56 years of population growth under current assumptions — a projection that takes the city into the late 2070s — but added that large-scale supply options, such as Lake DeSmet, still require study and confirmation. "Lake DeSmet has been the one that we've identified as a large enough supply that could meet those future needs," he said, but cautioned the project would need more study to confirm viability.

Roberts said the city obtained a lifetime permit for its landfill and that current permitted capacity would allow landfill operation through about 2078 while serving the county. He said the city has 110 acres south of the current landfill that could be used for future cells and that, if needed, permitting and site preparation should start a few years before projected capacity is exhausted.

Roberts and council discussed conservation and demand-management tools. He said Sheridan has drought-response plans and a tiered water-rate structure but does not currently run an active conservation program; he noted some conservation measures may be difficult because much of the city’s water rights are direct-flow rights rather than stored supplies. Council members asked about annexation policy, the cost and mechanics of converting irrigation rights to municipal supply, and the process for increasing density in Planned Unit Developments. Planning staff later clarified that PUD amendments must come before the governing body.

Roberts summarized the takeaway as: the systems are fundamentally sound and provide years to plan and equitably spread costs across future ratepayers, but the city should continue monitoring localized bottlenecks and begin studies and property-planning steps well before projected triggers arrive.