New storage site coming for Castle Rock’s renewable water  

With this week’s groundbreaking celebration, the Town of Castle Rock is on its way to increasing renewable water storage by adding a new storage reservoir near Sedalia and expanding the existing reservoir at the site.

When completed, the reservoirs will hold up to 436 million gallons of water the Town diverts from Plum Creek, to which it owns the rights.

Renewable water storage plays a primary role in Castle Rock Water’s long-term water plan. Castle Rock Water’s long-term goal is to provide a sustainable, reliable and renewable water supply for all of Castle Rock’s residents and businesses. To meet this goal,

the Town would have a year’s worth of water in storage — roughly 3.5 billion gallons for current annual usage, or more than 5 billion gallons in the future. When this project is complete, the Town will have the capacity to store about 3.7 billion gallons of water — enough to meet the goal for current annual usage.

“This reservoir is more than just water storage; it represents an opportunity to collaborate with regional partners to maximize the use of renewable water in Douglas County,” said Castle Rock Water Director Mark Marlowe.

As part of the water supply plan, the Town of Castle Rock owns surface water diversion, pumping and raw water storage facilities located on Plum Creek near the town of Sedalia. A new Plum Creek diversion pump station was completed in August 2020 and now pumps raw water from Plum Creek to the existing storage reservoir, Castle Rock Reservoir No. 1, and from the reservoir to Plum Creek Water Purification Facility.

The construction of the second restricted-access reservoir and the expansion of the first will increase storage capacity by 1,100 acre-feet, which will help Castle Rock Water accommodate daily high demands during summer months with renewable water and will act as an additional storage vessel when Castle Rock Water is able to divert excess surface water into the reservoirs.

The total construction cost for the project is expected to be approximately $30 million.

Learn more about Castle Rock Water’s long-term plans at CRgov.com/WaterPlans.

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