Colorado Springs officially approves stormwater deal

A big step taken Wednesday in Colorado Springs could help end years of contention with Pueblo County regarding stormwater issues and Fountain Creek.

The Colorado Springs City Council, in an 8-1 vote, officially committed to a 20-year, $460 million plan to build 71 stormwater facilities that will improve water quality in Fountain Creek from Colorado Springs to Pueblo.

“We have found that at least 61 of those projects have downstream benefits,” said Merv Bennett, council president. “They’re not just benefits to Colorado Springs. So this is a win-win for everybody.”

Echoing that sentiment was Rick Hoover, president of the Council of Neighborhoods and Organizations.

“Fountain Creek and its tributaries touch a lot of neighborhoods,” he said. “So we’re glad to see the plan move forward. And the nice thing about it, it was decided on by engineers, not politicians.”

However, there was some criticism and skepticism during a brief public comment period at the meeting.

“Pueblo decided of itself to build on three flood plains — one north, one east, one downtown,” said Walter Lawson. “Don’t charge other cities, especially my city, for making this unavoidable error.”

“This is something that needs to be a big responsibility, and we’re still just at the stage of doing studies about studies,” said Deborah Stout-Meininger. “That is not very promising.”

The council and Pueblo County commissioners last week reached a tentative agreement on the plan, to be implemented by the city and Colorado Springs Utilities.

The commissioners officially vote on the agreement April 25.

Under the agreement, the city will address flooding, erosion, water quality and related issues in the creek.

Pueblo County has been critical of the city for several years because of the absence of such a commitment, and on several occasions threatened to sue the city and block the new Southern Delivery System water pipeline — part of which runs through the county.

It’s believed that Pueblo County will forgo any future legal action if the city meets its stormwater commitment.

Finalizing the agreement is thought to be one of the final steps in SDS going online as scheduled next Wednesday.

In a related matter, the City Council voted to approve another agreement, for the city and utilities to manage and implement the stormwater plan.

Councilwoman Helen Collins cast the lone dissenting vote in both matters.

“The water ends at the county line,” she said. “We’ve been told that people upstream from us don’t have any accountability to us. So it’s like the emphasis is on Colorado Springs to fix all the state’s problems.”

Officials said Pueblo County suggested changes to the agreement before the vote, such as the building of a dam for flood control and the removal of debris from the creek banks.

Council members said the dam idea is something they’ll consider but not commit to.

Responding to questions about where the money for the stormwater plan will come from, Bennett said he believes the city can continue this year’s commitment of $20 million taken from the budget, the sale of bonds and other existing funding sources.