Court Ruling Threatens Construction of Pipeline

A court ruling could threaten to shut down the Southern Delivery System project. A judge says the state made a mistake when it approved the project. Pueblo District Attorney Bill Thiebaut says the project won’t proceed as planned, but Colorado Springs Utilities has a different view. . A district court ruled on Friday against the pipeline that would bring water to Pueblo West, Security, and Colorado Springs.”It’s just another hurdle we need to work through to address and keep moving forward with this water project for our community,” said Janet Rummel from Colorado Springs Utilities

According to the lawsuit, environmental studies concerning the SDS project were not enough.”We had multiple evaluations from several agencies, so obviously we are disappointed that the court did not uphold those thorough evaluations,” said Rummel.

Pueblo District Attorney Bill Thiebaut says the construction of the waterway would degrade water quality and the Arkansas River Watershed. “We believe the extensive monitoring and environmental improvements that are already in place as far as the SDS project will address any water quality concerns that anyone has about the project,” said Rummel.

Colorado Springs Utilities say the court ruling won’t slow their progress.They will continue to build during the appeal process.