Aurora – Aurora water customers would each pay $5.61 more a month beginning in January under a cost increase to be presented to the City Council on Monday to help pay for a $500 million water project.
“We need to improve our system so the next time we have a drought we can continue to provide service,” said Mayor Ed Tauer. “It’s been years since a water project has been built in Colorado. Of course, it is expensive, but it will be bringing returns for decades.”
The South Platte Water Project would reuse water discharged into the South Platte River, giving Aurora 20 percent more water by 2010.
The process would pump water from wells along the riverbank, then deliver it to a nearby purification basin, where it would seep into the groundwater. The water would then move through sand and gravel to provide further cleansing before being pumped 34 miles south through a planned pipeline to the Aurora Reservoir, according to a document describing the project.
The water would then go through a new purification plant before going to Aurora homes and businesses. The project would be funded through rate increases and by bond sales. The first installment of $100 million in bonds goes on sale Thursday and was recently approved by the council. It did not require a public vote because it involves no taxes.
The project would provide 10,000 more acre-feet to Aurora’s water system, said utilities director Peter Binney.
“In terms of taking a major step forward, this is really the first big one for Aurora in 40 years,” he said.
The rate increase – which includes a 12 percent increase in tap fees – to be proposed Monday must be approved by the council, and it is only the first step in getting money for the project. Further rate increases are expected to be requested yearly.
Tauer quelled any fears about reusing water, saying it will be thoroughly cleaned and filtered.
“We are reclaiming water that we own in the Platte,” he said. “It means that is water we don’t have to find anywhere else. It still must go through all the same quality controls, which is federally mandated and checked.”
It is necessary, according Binney, because the city continues to grow and because of likely future droughts. If given approval by the City Council, work would begin on a third water plant in about a year, he said.
Staff writer Jeremy Meyer can be reached at 303-820-1175 or jpmeyer@denverpost.com.
