Cañon City – A prison company is planning to build penitentiaries with up to 4,250 beds near Cañon City if it can get sufficient water and if state officials approve, private and government officials said.
Management Training Corp. asked the city at a special public works meeting Wednesday to begin exploring whether the city can deliver water to the site. The company envisions a 2,250-bed facility for men with a possible expansion of 750 beds and a 750-bed facility for women with a possible expansion of 500 beds.
Real estate agent Mike Butts said construction could begin as early as 2007 if the Colorado Department of Corrections approves and if the water is available.
A memo from MTC said the prison is expected to require a million-gallon tank on site and 125 gallons per inmate per day.
“It’s a massive project, and if we can’t get the water to the site, we’re finished,” Butts said.
City Attorney John Havens said MTC would be billed $2,280 per inmate per year for water service, or about $6.8 million for 3,000 male inmates alone.
The city already is considering a water request from Royal Gorge Ranch, which wants to buy 1.6 million gallons per day.
