Arapahoe County Planning Commission approves Rangeview’s Box Elder diversion dam permit over local objections

The Arapahoe County Planning Commission voted 5–1 on June 2 to approve LE25‑005, a location-and-extent application that will allow Rangeview Metropolitan District to construct an inflatable bladder diversion dam, a buried pumping vault and about 600 feet of 16‑inch transmission line on Box Elder Creek.

Cat Hammer, senior planner with Arapahoe County Public Works, told the commission staff recommended approval with two conditions based on Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) referral comments, including protections for high‑priority habitat and a raptor‑nest survey. “Staff is recommending 2 conditions of approval, based on comments received from CPW,” Hammer said.

Rangeview’s presenter, Brent Bridal, said the project relies on an existing water‑right decree and is intended to capture renewable surface water during high flows for storage and treatment. “Rangeview already owns these water rights and has the ability to divert surface water from Box Elder Creek,” Bridal told the commission, describing an inflatable rubber bladder that would inflate to raise water into an intake and pump to the Lowry Ridge storage pond. Bridal said the facility is designed to divert up to 10 cubic feet per second (CFS) when Rangeview is in priority and that the Army Corps of Engineers has issued a nationwide permit for in‑floodplain work.

Residents who live along the creek urged the commission to deny or continue the application, saying local wells and a shallow groundwater table sustain trees, ponds and agricultural uses. Dina Dorn, whose property the creek crosses, said the corridor “is a whole ecosystem” and urged more study. Bill Coyle, who described himself as holding senior decreed water rights, told the commission “every time this board approves one of their projects, it injures my wells.”

Commissioners pressed the applicant on technical details. Bridal said components have long design lives — the rubber bladder might last “in the 20 to 30 year time frame,” pumps about 10–15 years, and buried sheet‑pile and concrete works decades longer — and that the diversion would be remotely monitored via SCADA with automatic safety deflation in high water. He also said Rangeview must meter diversions and report flows to the Division of Water Resources, which enforces compliance.

Staff and the applicant emphasized that the water right is junior (a 1986 priority date) and would be exercised only when downstream senior rights are satisfied. Bridal repeated that diversion would occur “only when all the senior water right holders are met” and described metering and mandatory reporting as accountability tools.

After public comment and commissioner questions, Commissioner Sauve moved to approve LE25‑005 based on the staff report and findings, with the two CPW‑informed conditions; Commissioner Lotzis seconded. The motion passed 5–1 (Ayes: Commissioners Howe, Laszlo, Saul, Solve, Wolf; Opposed: Chair Miller).

The approved application is a land‑use/location-and‑extent approval administered by Arapahoe County; Bridal said other construction permits already exist and that this approval is the last permit needed before construction could proceed during the upcoming dry window. The county’s conditions and CPW recommendations remain part of the record; staff noted the county’s limited authority to require some mitigation and said it relies on referral agencies’ expertise for habitat protections.

Next steps: implementation depends on final construction scheduling and continued compliance with water‑right reporting and the Army Corps and state permitting regimes. The commission noted they could revisit procedures or continue an item in the future if new information arises.