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Department of Utilities
Reference: Presentation of the Ken Mitchell Reservoir Storage Complex Master Plan
To: Mayor Richard N. McLean and Members of City Council
Through: Clint Blackhurst, Acting City Manager
Chontel Trujillo, Assistant City Manager
Prepared By: Curtis Bauers, Director of Utilities
Date Prepared: February 21, 2017
PURPOSE
To present the summary of the Ken Mitchell Water Reservoir Storage Complex including historical perspective of various transactions and changes from the initial plan, but focusing on the recent (past 24 months) of effort and investment in Cell 1, and future investments necessary to complete Erger's Pond and Cell 3. Water has long been a limited resource in Colorado, and as the State's population and Brighton's population continue to grow, it becomes increasingly imperative to use our water supplies responsibly and thoughtfully, and this requires significant amounts of storage in order to outlast the fairly frequent and significant droughts that effect the front range.
BACKGROUND
Gravel mining at the Ken Mitchell site began in the early 1990's and has gone through several iterations during that time. As the mining has neared completion various additional projects/requirements have been necessary to bring it to operational status. The Ken Mitchell storage complex currently consists of about 1,800 AF in Erger's Pond, and 2,600 AF in Cell #3. Cell #2 has been backfilled and no water storage has been contemplated there since about 2006. Cell #1 has been expanded in the past few years to a current estimate of 2,700AF.
Significant amounts of money were invested in the acquisition of these storage vessels and significant additional money (in excess of $12M) has been invested in the recent completion of Cell #1. Cell #3 and Erger's Pond will require similar additional investments to reach completion. A good rule of thumb for storage acquisition costs in the past decade is approximately $4,000/AF, with additional co...
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