Homeowners Attend Community Water Meeting

On Monday, December 15th, more than 40 homeowners attended a meeting at the Community Center hosted by the Castle Pines North Metro District (CPNMD).

“We decided to host this meeting following the November article in the Rocky Mountain News,” said Judy Dahl, CPNMD Manager. “We wanted to reassure our homeowners that our water supply is adequate and that we are working on numerous projects to extend the life of our underground water supply and to obtain renewable surface water to meet demands of our community.”

During the meeting, Theresa Jehn-Dellaport, Water Resources and Environmental Consultant for CPNMD, presented key facts and important information regarding water rights, an overview of the Denver Basin, and the core hole study conducted in the 1980’s. “Castle Pines North is the only water district in Douglas County to have conducted a core hole study through all of the Denver Basin aquifers to verify our 100-year water supply,” said Jehn-Dellaport. “The core hole study was conducted at one of our well sites and took a continuous sample of all five aquifers.”

During the study, a continuous core of the rock strata was collected from all five aquifers existing in CPN. “The rock core was studied to determine the amount of specific yield that is available in the aquifers. Specific yield is the measurement of the ratio of the volume of water that a given amount of saturated rock will hold against gravity.

It is used to calculate how much water is available in each aquifer,” said Jehn-Dellaport. “The Denver Basin rules specify how much specific yield is in each aquifer. The core hole study at Castle Pines North showed that there is more specific yield in the aquifers than what the State rules specify. Therefore, we have more water than what has been calculated by the State.” The core hole study samples, which consist of some 2100 feet, are currently stored in the Metro District basement.

Jehn-Dellaport also discussed various conservation efforts that are underway. “Additional methods for irrigating open space and parks are currently being studied,” said Jehn-Dellaport. “And, beginning this year, the golf course will be using re-use water, in conjunction with well water. This will save more than 55 million gallons of water from the CPN wells this year.”

The average single family home in Castle Pines North uses 187,200 gallons of water per year. “While the average home uses only 20 gallons a day in the winter months that number increases to 1,100 gallons per day in the summer” said Jehn-Dellaport. “We drastically increase our demand for water during the summer primarily for irrigation purposes.”
Bryan Smith, Engineer for the Metro District, also presented information on storm water pollution.

The six-step program, which is currently underway, is part of the Federal Clean Water Act designed to teach homeowners how to avoid pollution of “run off” water.

Numerous homeowners presented various questions during the meeting. “We value our residents’ opinions and concerns,” said Dahl. “We are dedicated to meeting the water needs of our community and appreciate their input.”

Residents of Castle Pines North are invited to the next CPN Metro District community water meeting on March 15th at 6:00 p.m. at the Community Center.