FAQs

Engineering design work started in 2022 and will be completed in early 2024. Construction is anticipated to begin in early 2024 and be done in 2025.

The flow of water as part of supplying drinking water to the City of Englewood will no longer occur in the remaining open channel sections of City Ditch south of the Allen Water Treatment Plant. In these areas, stormwater or water for delivery to contract users could potentially continue to flow down the ditch in the future. North of the Allen Water Treatment Plant, water will continue to flow in existing open channel sections of City Ditch to Harvard Gulch Park.

This project provides many benefits for the drinking water supply for the City of Englewood, including improvement to the source water quality. This project will also improve the operations of the City Ditch system and allow for more reliable deliveries of water to the Allen Water Treatment Plant. Additionally, the system resiliency and safety of the City Ditch system will be improved. Once the project is complete, it is anticipated that energy and annual operating costs will be reduced for Englewood’s raw water delivery. Combined with other water system improvements, this project will contribute to improvements in the taste, odor, and hardness of drinking water delivered to customers.

City Ditch is a gravity raw water delivery system operated by the City of Englewood to bring water from Chatfield Reservoir to the Allen Water Treatment Plant to be treated as drinking water. Currently, water delivery from City Ditch is based on the season, the contract user agreements, and the Englewood drinking water demands as monitored by operators at the treatment plant. Once this project is complete, City Ditch will be a fully piped system between Chatfield Reservoir and the Allen Water Treatment Plant.  

Jacobs Engineering Group (Jacobs), the selected engineering consulting firm, has professionals engaged in this project that specialize in environmental planning, permitting, and related fields. Englewood recently confirmed through coordination with Jacobs and the United States Army Corps of Engineers that the City Ditch is non-jurisdictional and therefore an environmental impact study is not required.

City Ditch between Chatfield Reservoir and Harvard Gulch Park is not a designated historic landmark. Neither the City of Englewood or the City of Littleton will pursue historic designation, as the primary purpose of City Ditch is to deliver water to be treated and distributed to Englewood’s residents and businesses. Englewood has discussed this project with historic preservation groups in both Englewood and Littleton and is actively working on solutions to help preserve historic aspects of the ditch.

The City aims to minimize impacts to neighborhoods and individual properties from construction.  The City has selected Reynolds Construction for this project, who has significant experience in large-diameter pipeline construction, including experience in urban and high-density areas.  The City and Reynolds will work together with neighbors in close proximity to City Ditch to ensure there is clear and early communication prior to and during construction. In addition, regular updates will be provided on the Englewood Engaged page: https://www.engaged.englewoodco.gov/city-ditch-piping-project.

Yes, this project was recommended in the 2020 master plan to improve the taste, odor and hardness of the water.

Englewood is following all applicable regulations and permitting requirements for this project, which may involve considerations for trees and/or wildlife.