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Colo. Water-Reuse Plan06-14-07 | News

Colo. Water-Reuse Plan

The Prairie Waters Project in Aurora, Colo. is attracting nationwide attention because it secures a steady supply of water ?EUR??,,????'??without drying up more farms or increasing transmountain diversions.?EUR??,,????'?? The $750 million plan utilizes return flows from the Colorado river to provide enough additional water to support the city?EUR??,,????'???s needs ?EUR??,,????'??well into the next two decades.?EUR??,,????'??

“More than 90 percent of our water supply can be used, and reused to extinction,” said Mark Pifher, deputy director for Aurora Water. About 60 percent of Aurora?EUR??,,????'???s water comes from the Colorado River or Arkansas River basins. Currently, most of the flows from the South Platte River basin are the consumptive use portion of former agricultural water.

Though those flows are now primarily leased to downstream farmers, after the drought of 2002-03 nearly drained Aurora’s reservoir supplies, the city ?EUR??,,????'??decided to look seriously at indirect reuse of the flows.?EUR??,,????'??

“We looked at 40 to 50 options, from additional imports to agricultural conservation,” Pifher said. “The Prairie Waters Project lets us use hundreds of millions of dollars worth of water rights that are there for our use.” By 2010, the finished system will be capable of delivering up to 3.26 billion gallons annually.

Ground will be broken for a $190 million treatment plant later this month. After that, a system of wells and pipelines will be completed. The treatment plant at the end of the line will use several processes—softening, ultraviolet light, filtration and charcoal adsorption—to further purify the water. At that point, the water will be blended with fresh water sources for taste and odor issues. After that, the water will be ?EUR??,,????'??virtually indistinguishable from its native supplies.?EUR??,,????'??