From The Pueblo Chieftain (Chris Woodka):
The district’s board voted Thursday to purchase 300 acres on the Excelsior Ditch for $5.85 million from Colorado Springs developers Mark and Jim Morley. The ground is part of the Stonewall Springs Ranch, which the Morleys have for years planned to develop as a reservoir site. The Morleys most recently planned three reservoirs storing up to 25,000 acre-feet on the 1,400 acre property, which they purchased from Dick Evans for $6.275 million in 2006. The property is located south of U.S. 50 near Nyberg Road and the Pueblo Chemical Depot…
Woodmoor purchased the middle site, but has not determined how big the reservoir on the site would be, said Jessie Shaffer, manager of the district. “There would be the opportunity to store up to 8,300 acre-feet, but we haven’t decided on a final size,” Shaffer said. The Morleys are operating a quarry on land to the west of the site Woodmoor purchased and could build up to a 6,500 acre-foot reservoir there. On the parcel to the east, an 11,500 acre-foot reservoir could be built, Mark Morley said…
Along with the land, Woodmoor purchased 771 shares of the Excelsior Ditch, which is expected to generate about 326 acre-feet of water in an average year. The Woodmoor board also voted to buy 6.6 shares on the High Line Canal. It will be added to the 41.2 shares that went under contract April 8. The purchase will bring the district’s total investment in the High Line to more than $2 million. Each share on the ditch irrigates 10 acres, only the historical consumptive use of the water rights…
Woodmoor is buying the water rights in the Arkansas Valley as part of a plan to reduce its reliance on Denver Basin aquifers. Late last year, Woodmoor filed an application in Division 2 Water Court to exchange water upstream along the Arkansas River, Fountain Creek and Monument Creek in order to use shares from either the Holbrook or High Line canals. Shaffer did not rule out future purchases on the Holbrook Canal. The Woodmoor district is located in northern El Paso County east of Interstate 25 and serves 3,300 customers.
More Woodmoor coverage here.