Pueblo County wants improvements for Fountain Creek before Colorado Springs can use major pipeline

Before the water can turn on for a major southern Colorado pipeline, Pueblo County wants to make sure Colorado Springs has the money for flood projects.

Pueblo County staff met with county commissioners Monday.

They showed their report to check if Springs is compliant with its Southern Delivery System lease.

The biggest concern in the report is lack of funding for projects to improve Fountain Creek, which runs through Pueblo.

“It highlights the magnitude of water that comes down the creek with existing development and therefore better highlights how much more can come down if it isn’t properly managed with additional development,” said Alf Randall, who is director of Pueblo County Public Works.

Mark Pifher, who is an SDS Utilities permitting manager, said he thinks Springs can solve the county’s concerns.

“This is where we start the negotiation to get to the core root of their concerns and to address them,” he said.

Pifher said Colorado Springs, in June, will provide a list of stormwater improvement projects it plans to do in the area.

SDS is meant to take water from Pueblo Reservoir to Colorado Springs, Fountain, Security and Pueblo West.