Southern Delivery System switches on this week

The Southern Delivery System (SDS) one of the largest water infrastructure projects completed in the West this century, will start operations April 27 and begin to deliver water to customers April 28 .

SDS is a regional project that includes 50 miles of pipeline, three raw water pump stations, a water treatment plant, and a finished water pump station. It will be capable, in its first phase, of delivering 50 million gallons of water per day and becomes part of a system that will serve as many as three-quarters of a million residents through 2040.

SDS will supply Colorado Springs and the partner communities water through 2040 and beyond. The project is needed to meet current and future water needs, enhance system reliability and help protect against drought.

Twenty years of planning and permitting followed by six years of construction will culminate Thursday with the opening of the Southern Delivery System, an $825 million water infrastructure project. Capable of delivering up to 50 million gallons of water per day in Phase 1, SDS will meet the immediate and future water needs of project partners Colorado Springs, Fountain, Security and Pueblo West through 2040.