Douglas County designates Dominion Water & Sanitation District an established district after staff and consultant reviews

Douglas County commissioners voted to designate Dominion Water and Sanitation District as an "established district" under the county's Zoning Resolution Section 18A (the water-supply overlay district).

Staff (Katie Carter, Community Development) described the established-district request (project file MI2024-026) as the formal mechanism by which Title 32 districts formed after 1998 can seek parity with districts formed earlier under county standards. The established-district designation gives a Title 32 district greater autonomy to operate under district-specific demand standards while retaining county review for new development served by the district. County consultant Applegate Group and the county Water Commission reviewed Dominion's submittal and did not object to the designation; Applegate's letter is included in the staff packet.

District presentation and evidence: Andrea Cole, general manager for Dominion Water and Sanitation District, and the district's board and consultants outlined Dominion's infrastructure and supply portfolio. Dominion's existing firm renewable supply was reported in the presentation as approximately 2,457 acre‑feet (all described as renewable surface supplies) and Dominion said it expects to achieve and maintain greater than 70% renewable supplies at buildout. Staff and Dominion noted the district's participation in the WISE project, interconnections with neighboring systems, ownership stakes in regional pipelines and treatment facilities, over 93 miles of distribution and collection mains, two storage tanks (combined ~3 million gallons), and wastewater lift stations and force mains serving the northwest Douglas County service area.

Why it matters: The established-district designation acknowledges Dominion's investment in water infrastructure and allows the district to operate with district-specific demand standards under Section 18A, while continuing county review of water adequacy for individual development proposals. The designation also clarifies the county's long-term approach to evaluating water supply sufficiency for growth in northwest Douglas County.

Board action: Commissioner [mover name not specified] moved to approve a resolution designating Dominion Water and Sanitation District as an established district (project file MI2024-026); another commissioner seconded. The board voted unanimously in favor, and Chair announced the motion passed 3–0.

Notable quotes and technical review: Applegate Group provided a written review to the county confirming the district's ability to meet the county's established-district requirements for the request. During her presentation Andrea Cole said Dominion has been “the first and only pilot project in the state of Colorado” for a regional rainwater-harvesting pilot described in the packet (statement as presented at the hearing). Applegate and staff noted that Section 18A will continue to apply to new development served by Dominion in the sense that applicants must still provide required information on quantity, quality and dependability of water supplies.

Follow-up and implementation: If new development seeks service from Dominion, the water-supply overlay (Section 18A) will continue to govern submittal requirements for water adequacy; the established designation modifies district-level expectations, not the requirement that individual development show adequate water supply.

Provenance: The staff presentation, the Dominion presentation and the board's resolution vote were recorded in the public packet for the Jan. 28, 2025 land use meeting (Item 3a).