About Roxborough Water & Sanitation District
Roxborough Water & Sanitation District currently provides water and sewer service to the community including Roxborough Park and Roxborough Village and to some commercial customers within the community. In General, existing distribution and collection systems are adequate to provide service at build-out with the exception of the need to replace and expand the capacity of the water treatment plant.
The District currently leases its water supply from the City of Aurora. The lease provides for 3100 acre-ft., thought year 2022. After expiration of the lease the District has no commitment, from Aurora, for a permanent water supply. However the District considers this issue the most important priority of the District. The District is continuing to work with the City of Aurora as well as pursuing other available options to resolve this issue. Aurora has stated that they will continue working with the District until a permanent water supply solution is obtained.
The residents of Roxborough began a mandatory water restriction as of May 1, 2006. As you are aware the state of Colorado is experiencing drought conditions and even with recent or intermittent rainfall it will take several years for mountain reservoirs to fully recover.
Because Roxborough Water & Sanitation District purchases their water supply from the City of Aurora, our customers will be experiencing similar water restrictions as the City of Aurora’s customers. (View Water Schedule)
Roxborough Water & Sanitation District receives their water from Aurora, via the South Platte River Systems with diversion at Strontia Springs. As is the case with Roxborough and most other communities in Colorado our water comes from melted mountain snow and this most current drought has depleted many of our high elevation reservoirs. Our reservoirs are experiencing more demand than renewable supply because of this lack of snowfall. Not only do we need to think about the current water shortage but also we have to consider the water needs of the future that relies on an uncertain renewable source. Unlike most other Douglas County communities, Roxborough does not use any ground water in its system. The Roxborough community has numerous new homes, which of course, mean new lawns. These new lawns do require more immediate attention and we certainly understand that and want to work with our customers to protect their investment. If you have a new lawn we will require the homeowner to apply for an exemption. Please contact the District office for details. However, there are many water-wise alternatives to full lawns from property line to property line. Those of you with new homes that haven’t put in your lawn would be advised to wait until early spring or fall to do so. Lawns that are installed in the early spring or fall have the best chance of survival because you are not dealing with the summer heat.
Times and schedules can be found by clicking here: Watering Schedule. We will be monitoring the Roxborough Community to make sure people are complying with the mandatory watering schedule that has been put in place. The first violation is a warning with no charge. The second violation is a $250.00 fine. The third violation is a $500.00 fine. The fourth violation will result in your water being shut off and $100 shut off/turn on fee applies. To view the “About Roxborough” brochure click here.
History
The Roxborough Water & Sanitation District (RWSD) was established in 1972 to provide water, sewer and fire protection service to the Roxborough Community. In 1999 RWSD was included in the West Metro Fire Protection District and thus fire protection service is no longer provided by RWSD. The District’s original 1972 Service Plan was based on providing service to 6400 units at build-out. Since 1972, the anticipated number of units at build-out has been reduced by down-zoning from multifamily to single family and the acquisition of a large portion of the District by Roxborough State Park. While several adjacent parcels have been included in the District, which partially offset the reduction in units, the estimated number of units at build-out within the existing District boundary is between 3700-3950 units. The loss of approximately 2460 until from the original 6400 units has created significant facility and financial planning challenges for the District, as well as living through a bankruptcy in 1975. With the change of fire protection service, the District changed its name to The Roxborough Water and Sanitation District in 2006. In 2007 the District connected to the Littleton/Englewood Wastewater Treatment Plant allowing elimination of the District’s 30 year old Wastewater Treatment Plant.
Future
The District is in the process of negotiating a long term water supply solution with the City of Aurora to obtain water treatment service from Denver Water. These goals would result in eliminating District treatment, stabilize costs to customers and provide water supply certainty. The District is also working with other water providers, the State (CWCB) and Corps of Engineers in assessing, through an environmental impact statement (EIS), the possibility of adding 20,600 acre feet of storage to Chatfield Reservoir. The District is developing a replacement program for various facilities and infrastructure.
Through its comprehensive Master Plan, the District will assess future needs such as developing a Global Information System (GIS), updated telemetry system (communication between water and wastewater) infrastructure and future efficient management of the District after build out of homes and needed infrastructure is complete.