From the Highlands Ranch Herald (Ryan Boldrey):
In the midst of the worst drought since 2002, Centennial Water and Sanitation District is tapping its 1.7 billion acre-feet supply of groundwater underneath Highlands Ranch to prepare for summer.
“We use it when we have to,” said John Hendrick, general manager for Centennial. “The groundwater program is kind of our Fort Knox, our trump card up our sleeves. Our reserves are big enough that we could use 17,000 acre-feet a year for 100 years.”
To access the groundwater, the district will begin a somewhat lengthy 24/7 drilling process in two locations within the community in early March. The drill sites are located on Salford Lane, north of Gateway Drive and east of Broadway, and near Paintbrush Park, just north of Valleybrook Road and southwest of McArthur Ranch Road.
“It will be disruptive,” Hendrick said. “We could stretch it out for three, four or five months if we limited the time we were working on it, but the cost would escalate significantly. So, we’re going to get in there, get it done and get out of your hair.”[…]
Once complete, the well sites will undergo additional construction work involving the installation of underground piping as well as pumping equipment in the wells. The sites will then be landscaped to make them blend in with the surrounding properties.
More South Platte River Basin coverage here.