Castle Rock panel to consider $301,049 Chatfield pipeline contract amendment
The proposed amendment would fund design work, Ravenna pipeline alternatives and property-acquisition support for a system intended to move Chatfield Reservoir water to the town’s treatment system.
Castle Rock’s Water Commission is scheduled to consider a $301,049 increase to the town’s engineering agreement for the Chatfield Reservoir Pump Back Project, which is intended to move Chatfield Reservoir water directly to the town’s treatment system.
The proposed fourth amendment would raise Burns & McDonnell’s contract maximum from $905,700 to $1,206,749 and extend the agreement through Dec. 31, 2027. Water Commission staff recommend approval at the commission’s Sept. 23 meeting.
The additional work would cover 20% design for about 6.5 miles of pipeline between a planned booster station and Castle Rock’s CRR-1 and CRR-2 reservoirs, along with environmental field surveys and permitting support.
Burns & McDonnell also would evaluate alternatives to rehabilitate or replace up to about 3.75 miles of the existing Ravenna pipeline between the booster-station area and Ravenna Country Club. The town says the pipeline’s age and material have contributed to frequent breaks. The selected alternative would advance to 20% design and receive a preliminary cost estimate.
The amendment includes appraisals, market research and landowner meetings for a booster-station site, as well as outreach to as many as 12 landowners along the proposed pipeline alignment and preparation of up to 12 additional right-of-entry agreements. The packet identifies two possible locations on a Sterling Ranch parcel and one on a City and County of Denver parcel.
Castle Rock has capacity to store 2,000 acre-feet in Chatfield Reservoir but does not yet have direct-return infrastructure. Town materials say Chatfield water has lower total dissolved solids than water currently diverted and stored in the town’s CRR-1 and CRR-2 reservoirs. The pump-back system is intended to send that water directly to the treatment system rather than relying on an exchange through Plum Creek and existing diversions.
The amendment would be funded through a $334,968 budget transfer. The packet lists $55,650.64 in previously approved town-managed contingency, bringing the proposed total authorization for the consultant agreement and contingency to $1,262,399.64. That amount is separate from the project’s construction budget.
The town’s proposed 2027-31 capital improvement plan lists $6.4 million for the combined “Chatfield Storage Reallocation Project and Pump Back,” but does not separate the pump-back portion. The proposed Fourth Amendment anticipates about six additional months for preliminary design, environmental surveys and easement due diligence; it does not set a final construction or in-service date.
The amendment has not been approved. Water Commission consideration is scheduled for Sept. 23, followed by Town Council consideration listed for Oct. 20.