The project entails 27 well sites at the three locations (High Forest - 7, Bar-X - 16, McCune – 4.) The wells will be in the Denver and Arapahoe aquifers. Since the amount of water that moves up and down between the four aquifers is unknown, draining the lower aquifers might affect the Dawson as well since there is not a clear, impermeable boundary between the aquifers. The wells will connect to a  24-inch waterline along Hodgen to Meridian and then south to the storage tank and treatment facility for Sterling Ranch on Arroya Lane.  They propose to drill the first wells in 2022 or 2023.  

Potential use of Southern Delivery System water from the city is possible but even with city water they might not have a high priority for water supplies in a severe drought so they want these non-renewable supplies from the Denver basin.  

The question remains if these wells could produce enough water to be commercially feasible. Several wells on Sundance Ranch didn't produce enough water to justify the cost.

The saying, "Paper water does not always equal wet water," comes to mind again.  The decreed water rights given to FAWA aren't necessarily the amount of water they will be able to economically extract.

Below are downloads to maps of the various well locations.

Also - CLICK HERE to see the article posted in December 2021 on the Falcon Water Authority.

​In the article I have a circled "1" beside a statement where the editorial says the 300-year rule will be a hindrance to growth.  Now, 34 years later we know that the state has never turned down a new development because of water and development continues at a rapid pace even as water supplies are dwindling and becoming more critical for water districts in our area.

In item "2" I see some very false logic comparing water to firewood since firewood is a renewable resource and water is not.

In item "3" I would ask the question, "How does a potential home buyer "make sure" the home has a long-term water supply if he has a well?" That is a determination that must be made by the water experts and those experts are basing their conclusions on incomplete data as to the composition, permeability, transmissivity and other factors that are underground where no one knows for sure.

For item "4" the homebuilder has only to get a determination from the state as to water quality, quantity and availability (based on limited data) and away he goes.  The issue of long-term water availability is left up to the home owner and the builder has reaped his profits and is long gone.

In the last paragraph, I wonder if the Gazette staff would make the same negative conclusions today?

Terry

The project entails 27 well sites (High Forest - 7, Bar-X - 16, McCune - 4) with two wells per site potential.  The wells will not use the Dawson aquifer.   Since we don't know the amount of water that moves up and down between the four aquifers, draining the lower two or three aquifers might well affect the Dawson as well. There is not a clear, impermeable boundary between the aquifers. The wells will connect to a central 24-inch waterline that will go east on Hodgen to Meridian and then south to the storage tank and treatment facility for Sterling Ranch on Arroya.

The pipeline will cost about $12 million and each set of wells will cost $3 million so the cost is really high.  They propose to drill the first wells in 2022 or 2023.  They have identified water rights for sale on several other ranches in Black Forest so we can expect that maybe some other ranches might sell their water rights.

Potential plans for SDS water from the city are possible but the application states that even if they had city water they might not have a high priority for water supplies in a severe drought so they want these non-renewable supplies from our Denver basin.  The application states that there are few, if any, other sources of available water in the county sufficient to meet the needs of the Falcon area water providers.

As we have always said, "Paper water does not always equal wet water."  The decreed water rights given to the FAWA aren't necessarily the amount of water that they are able to economically extract.

Click to download Hank's presentation, or continue reading below.