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Wellington outlines water-source plan to reduce reliance on North Cooter; staff seek authority to update cash-in-lieu and yield assumptions
Summary
Public-works deputy director Megan Smith told trustees Wellington relies heavily on North Cooter water, has acquired 76 shares, and that staff recommend a 1,200-acre-foot acquisition target, an administratively updated cash-in-lieu formula and a modest increase in per-share yield assumptions.
Wellington— At a work session following a CERSA training, Megan Smith, deputy director of public works, briefed trustees on the town's water-source development plan and near-term policy options to improve affordability and supply reliability.
Smith said Wellington's potable system "is heavily reliant on North irrigation company" and is supplemented by municipal Wilson wells that are reliable but limited and not easily scalable. She explained the town's long-standing 1983 agreement with North Cooter that ties certain water rights and related pricing formulas to share market values.
The public-works update said the town has reacquired 76 North Cooter shares since 2018 (through developer dedications and selective purchases) and that in water year 2025 the town used a multi-use allocation that provided roughly 185 acre-feet from its shares. Smith said that allocation reduced the town's purchased-water bill by more than $500,000 in 2025.
Smith summarized the 2025 water-source development plan and said the strategic planning target shifted to acquiring about 1,200 acre-feet of long-term water (up from earlier planning around 750 acre-feet) so Wellington could replace contract water entirely if necessary. "That updated strategic target moved to 1,200 acre feet of total acquisition as a recommendation coming out of the water source development plan," she told trustees.
Staff proposed two near-term policy changes for board direction: first, move the town's cash-in-lieu (developer payment in lieu of wet-water dedication) to an administratively updatable calculation (staff recommended a minimum quarterly review) so developer charges better track market pricing; second, increase the assumption of yield per North Cooter share from 2.0 to 2.2 acre-feet to reflect a new multi-use direct-flow allocation while maintaining conservative hedging.
Trustees discussed the cadence for updates (quarterly minimum, with staff discretion to act more promptly in extraordinary market moves), the mechanics for locking rates for multi-phase developments, and whether staff should have discretion to accept shares or cash according to strategic objectives. Trustees asked about regulatory limits on well production, effluent discharge constraints and potential treatment upgrades to increase groundwater use.
Smith also mentioned exploration of regional alternatives, including non-tributary groundwater projects and the Front Range H2O/Beta Project; staff will bring drafted ordinance language and a calculation methodology back to the board for adoption and proposed quarterly reporting.
What's next: staff will draft the administrative calculation methodology and ordinance language to present at a future work session and circulate supporting materials. The board tentatively scheduled additional discussion on developer-impact and cash-in-lieu issues at its June 9 meeting.
