Douglas County, Colorado has relied on water from shallow aquifers that lie beneath the western prairies for generations. This water has been very inexpensive and now is beginning to run dry.
The county commission has set itself a new goal, which is to convince residents to stop using the ancient Denver aquifer and instead hook into water districts that get their water from the mountains.
Tim Murrell, the water manager, and planner for the last seven years, has been engineering just such a shift.
The Gazette reports:
“As a water planner working for a county that doesn’t provide water service, Murrell’s job is unique.
“I am the only one of (my) type in the state who was hired by the county to look at water issues,” said Murrell, who previously helped New Mexico compile a state water plan.
Murrell’s task is to get rural communities to use what he calls “renewable water” – water that does not come from the area’s limited aquifer, but from reservoirs and rivers naturally refilled annually by snowpack…
…This year, the county has focused on participating in a multi-million dollar project known as the Water, Infrastructure and Supply Efficiency partnership, which links the Denver metro areas to system of recycled and unused water. If all goes as planned, the project will bring more water to communities like Douglas County, as it works to abandon its reliance on groundwater.”
The Douglas Country commissioners have already started to help fund changes that allow communities to get access to district water supplies, which is positive.
They hope that once every community has stopped using groundwater wells, growth and development can finally boom in an area mostly devoid of residents due to lack of water resources.
Inframanage.com observes that there is nothing like a shortage of water to stifle development. In extreme cases, it can lead to communities, and towns being abandoned.
Providing for long-term sustainable water sources is part of good water utility infrastructure management.
In turn, this leads to the development of long-term water planning, 50 year plus water strategic plans, and summary information is documented in the Future Demand section of your infrastructure asset management plan.
PHOTO CREDIT: Ben Simo via Flickr Creative Commons License
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