From The Colorado Springs Gazette (Daniel Chacón):
So far, Utilities has paid nearly $4 million to acquire easements on 131 properties. That’s more than one-third of the property it will need to build the pipeline. Utilities has a $37 million land acquisition budget for phase one of the pipeline project. Some of that money will help buy the estimated 760 acres needed for the future Upper Williams Creek Reservoir about 14 miles southeast of downtown Colorado Springs. The reservoir will be built in the project’s second phase…
To build the pipeline, Utilities must acquire mostly easements. Property owners retain the use of their land after construction. But permanent structures cannot be placed above the pipeline in case Utilities needs access for maintenance. All the land acquisitions to date have been “consensual transactions.” About 169 parcels are left. Utilities pledges to work cooperatively with the remaining property owners, paying them a fair price and then revegetating their land…
Although Utilities plans to build the pipeline in segments rather than starting in Pueblo and working its way to Colorado Springs, the land acquisitions will affect the construction schedule. They’re working to acquire adjacent properties to speed up the building. “It makes sense for us to start on the areas where we have a good section of land acquired, so we’re going to try to move forward with some of those sections early on in the schedule,” Rummel said. “For those sections that may take more time for the land acquisition, those will come later in the schedule.”