City Ditch Piping Project

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Project Description

Click on the image to enlarge.

Delivering safe, dependable drinking water to Englewood residents is a top priority for the City of Englewood. While Englewood’s water already meets drinking water regulations, the source of our water can affect the taste, odor and hardness from time to time. The City’s primary water supply is delivered through the City Ditch. Water travels by gravity from Chatfield Reservoir to Englewood through a combination of buried pipeline, overhead flumes, and open channel ditch through parts of unincorporated Douglas and Arapahoe Counties and Littleton before reaching Englewood’s Allen Water Treatment Plant (Allen WTP). City Ditch is one of the City’s most critical water infrastructure assets.

Englewood is planning to convert its remaining 2.5-miles of open channel sections between Chatfield Reservoir and the Allen WTP to buried pipe and, if needed, replace existing pipe.

Benefits

This project will result in numerous benefits to the City and its customers including:

  • Raw water delivered from Chatfield through City Ditch is better than water that is diverted from the South Platte River at the Union Avenue intake.
  • Improving our drinking water's taste and odor by allowing for increased usage of City Ditch.
  • Improving the system's reliability and safety by eliminating possibility for contamination through the open channel ditch sections.
  • Helping the City manage drought and climate change by limiting water loss.
  • Reducing energy use and annual operating and maintenance costs for raw water delivery.
  • Reducing or avoiding the need for capital improvement projects at the Allen WTP or Union Avenue Pump Station.

Importance of City Ditch

City Ditch is a water supply conveyance system that has been in existence for over 150 years. In addition to being the primary source of drinking water for the City of Englewood, City Ditch delivers water to contract users in Littleton, Englewood and Denver. Englewood owns and operates City Ditch between Chatfield Reservoir and Harvard Gulch Park.

Project Plan

Englewood Utilities began the design engineering phase of this project in the fall of 2022. Jacobs Engineering Group was selected to:

  • Conduct a study to review and map the existing system.
  • Analyze the capacity and hydraulics of a piped system.
  • Evaluate easements and alternative pipe alignments.
  • Understand the extent of rehabilitation or replacement needed in the existing piped sections

Various alignments are being evaluated and vetted for technical suitability, cost and public interest issues. Permitting, compliance, and detailed design will occur this year. Construction is planned to begin in summer 2025 with anticipated completion in 2026.

Converting to Pipe

The majority of the approximate 6.5 miles of City Ditch between Chatfield Reservoir and the Allen WTP is already piped. With this project, Englewood plans to convert the remaining 2.5-miles of open channel between Chatfield Reservoir and the Allen WTP to buried pipe and, if needed, replace existing pipe. The four reaches of the ditch to be converted to pipe include:

  • McLellan Pump Station to Mineral Ave.
  • Linhart Lake to Littleton Cemetery
  • Slaughterhouse Gulch Park to Belleview Ave.
  • Belleview Park area

City Ditch piping in Belleview Park will be primarily limited to the northern end of the park and two blocks north of the area. The final project will not affect Big Dry Creek, which is popular for wading and fishing. This project does not include areas of City Ditch between the Allen WTP and Harvard Gulch Park, and water will continue to flow through existing open channel in that stretch.

Paying for the Project

While all projects completed by the City have an impact on rates and fees, the costs for this project are part of our long-term financial plan. The monthly Capital Improvement Fee (CIF) funds capital projects such as this one to improve the taste, odor and hardness of the water. Additionally, other water users of City Ditch may contribute to infrastructure costs. The return on this investment will be better drinking water to serve our citizens and local businesses.

Project Description

Click on the image to enlarge.

Delivering safe, dependable drinking water to Englewood residents is a top priority for the City of Englewood. While Englewood’s water already meets drinking water regulations, the source of our water can affect the taste, odor and hardness from time to time. The City’s primary water supply is delivered through the City Ditch. Water travels by gravity from Chatfield Reservoir to Englewood through a combination of buried pipeline, overhead flumes, and open channel ditch through parts of unincorporated Douglas and Arapahoe Counties and Littleton before reaching Englewood’s Allen Water Treatment Plant (Allen WTP). City Ditch is one of the City’s most critical water infrastructure assets.

Englewood is planning to convert its remaining 2.5-miles of open channel sections between Chatfield Reservoir and the Allen WTP to buried pipe and, if needed, replace existing pipe.

Benefits

This project will result in numerous benefits to the City and its customers including:

  • Raw water delivered from Chatfield through City Ditch is better than water that is diverted from the South Platte River at the Union Avenue intake.
  • Improving our drinking water's taste and odor by allowing for increased usage of City Ditch.
  • Improving the system's reliability and safety by eliminating possibility for contamination through the open channel ditch sections.
  • Helping the City manage drought and climate change by limiting water loss.
  • Reducing energy use and annual operating and maintenance costs for raw water delivery.
  • Reducing or avoiding the need for capital improvement projects at the Allen WTP or Union Avenue Pump Station.

Importance of City Ditch

City Ditch is a water supply conveyance system that has been in existence for over 150 years. In addition to being the primary source of drinking water for the City of Englewood, City Ditch delivers water to contract users in Littleton, Englewood and Denver. Englewood owns and operates City Ditch between Chatfield Reservoir and Harvard Gulch Park.

Project Plan

Englewood Utilities began the design engineering phase of this project in the fall of 2022. Jacobs Engineering Group was selected to:

  • Conduct a study to review and map the existing system.
  • Analyze the capacity and hydraulics of a piped system.
  • Evaluate easements and alternative pipe alignments.
  • Understand the extent of rehabilitation or replacement needed in the existing piped sections

Various alignments are being evaluated and vetted for technical suitability, cost and public interest issues. Permitting, compliance, and detailed design will occur this year. Construction is planned to begin in summer 2025 with anticipated completion in 2026.

Converting to Pipe

The majority of the approximate 6.5 miles of City Ditch between Chatfield Reservoir and the Allen WTP is already piped. With this project, Englewood plans to convert the remaining 2.5-miles of open channel between Chatfield Reservoir and the Allen WTP to buried pipe and, if needed, replace existing pipe. The four reaches of the ditch to be converted to pipe include:

  • McLellan Pump Station to Mineral Ave.
  • Linhart Lake to Littleton Cemetery
  • Slaughterhouse Gulch Park to Belleview Ave.
  • Belleview Park area

City Ditch piping in Belleview Park will be primarily limited to the northern end of the park and two blocks north of the area. The final project will not affect Big Dry Creek, which is popular for wading and fishing. This project does not include areas of City Ditch between the Allen WTP and Harvard Gulch Park, and water will continue to flow through existing open channel in that stretch.

Paying for the Project

While all projects completed by the City have an impact on rates and fees, the costs for this project are part of our long-term financial plan. The monthly Capital Improvement Fee (CIF) funds capital projects such as this one to improve the taste, odor and hardness of the water. Additionally, other water users of City Ditch may contribute to infrastructure costs. The return on this investment will be better drinking water to serve our citizens and local businesses.

  • December 2025 City Ditch Piping Project Update

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    HEI Civil has mobilized for the City Ditch Piping Project in Reaches 3 and 4! Crews are hard at work putting up silt fence, staking the construction area, and clearing vegetation. We also began excavating and installing pipe. Construction in Reaches 3 and 4 is anticipated to be complete by late Spring 2026.

    The City Ditch Piping Project is another step forward in our ongoing efforts to improve the taste, odor and hardness of your drinking water.

  • June 2025 City Ditch Piping Project Update

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    Reach 1

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    Developers completed piping majority of Reach 1 following close coordination with City staff. The City is coordinating with a contractor to enclose the remaining portions of City Ditch in Reach 1. All work in Reach 1 is anticipated to be completed in 2025.

    Reach 2

    In 2024, the City requested a permanent easement from Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway (BNSF) for a portion of the City Ditch Pipeline in Reach 2, which runs from Linhart Lake to Littleton Cemetery. The permanent easement would have allowed Englewood to install the pipeline in the City’s preferred alignment, minimizing impacts on the existing ditch and nearby residential areas.

    BNSF unfortunately declined to grant the City a permanent easement. Reach 2 construction is on hold as the City works to redesign the piped sections that were planned to be on BNSF property outside of the City’s existing permanent easement, requiring a redesign of this reach. This adjustment will not substantially change the design for sections on the City of Littleton property, preserving parts of the existing City Ditch in this area. However, some sections of the new pipeline will be placed in the existing City Ditch channel within the City’s easement on private properties. The City will update adjacent residents and stakeholders and provide more information before construction starts, which is anticipated to begin for this reach towards the end of this year or in early 2026.

    Reach 3 and 4

    The City and its design engineer, Jacobs Engineering, revised the Reach 4 construction plans following a spring 2024 decision to realign the pipeline route through Belleview Park, utilizing sections of the existing City Ditch channel. The realignment addresses operation and construction challenges identified with the original proposed route. The Reach 3 plans did not substantially change over this past year.

    The revised construction plans for Reach 4 are complete and the City recently issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) to select a contractor for construction on Reaches 3 and 4. Construction is expected to begin this summer.

    Englewood is contacting property owners near the ditch in Reaches 3 and 4 directly to provide updates and address any potential impacts to their property during the upcoming construction.

    Additional information regarding construction and other project updates will be posted to this page as it becomes available.

  • April 25, 2024 Update

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    Over the last several months, Englewood staff and the design team from Jacobs Engineering have been gathering field data, evaluating system hydraulics, and finalizing the design for the City Ditch Piping Project. As this evaluation continued for Reach 4, it was found that the initial preferred pipeline route had several barriers for construction and operation of the ditch. The pipeline alignment has been modified to generally follow the existing City Ditch alignment between S Windermere St. and the Allen Water Treatment Plant.

    The redesign for this reach is in its early stages, and additional field investigation is required. Over the coming weeks, our contractors will be locating utilities and taking soil bore samples near City Ditch in Belleview Park and W Layton Ave. The contractors and their vehicles/equipment will remain within the existing City of Englewood easements, on the City of Englewood property, or within the public right-of-way. The work will be for a short duration at each location and noise will be minimal.

    We appreciate your understanding and patience as we complete the design phase of this critical project for Englewood’s drinking water system. We will continue to post project updates to the Englewood Engaged page as they become available. In the meantime, if you have any questions or would like to discuss this project further, please feel free to contact us at CDPipingProject@englewoodco.gov.

  • November 23, 2023 Update

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    Englewood held a public meeting in Littleton on November 29, 2023 for neighbors living near future City Ditch Piping Project construction activities in Reaches 2 and 3. The project team reviewed the changes made since the last community meeting, shared the estimated project timeline, and discussed project next steps. Materials from the meeting have been added to this Englewood Engaged page.

  • Key Topics

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    The following are responses to concerns raised by members of the public following the public meetings in spring 2023. Additional communication with the public will occur over the coming months.

    Tree Preservation

    Englewood will coordinate with the City of Littleton to minimize impacts to trees to the extent possible while installing the City Ditch pipeline. Trees that are required to be removed to aid construction activities, or trees that would be damaged or harmed by the construction will be mitigated in accordance with the City of Littleton’s requirements for tree and vegetation replacements.

    Wildlife Access to Water

    While City Ditch is used year-round to convey water to the Allen Water Treatment Plant, it is an intermittent water supply that is shut down for periods of time for maintenance or other operational reasons. It is not a consistent source of water for wildlife. Wildlife have other water sources in the area since the ditch crosses multiple creeks (Lee Gulch, Slaughterhouse Gulch, Dad Clark Gulch, and Big Dry Creek). Water will continue to be available for wildlife from those sources.

    Compensation

    Englewood’s proposed project is consistent with both Englewood’s existing easements for City Ditch and Colorado law, which expressly allow the owners of ditch rights-of-way to engage in maintenance and improvement activities, including lining or piping the ditch. The piping project is necessary to ensure Englewood’s ability to provide a safe and reliable municipal water supply while improving the efficiency of the ditch. The work is consistent with the previous piping of other reaches of City Ditch. These activities do not provide a basis for compensating landowners.

    Preserving Historical Attributes

    City of Englewood is open to creating interpretative signage along the ditch to commemorate the history of City Ditch and the role it played in providing water for our community. It may be possible to preserve or move the flumes. Englewood is still determining if open ditch will remain open or be filled in. Stakeholder input indicated there is a preference for both options.

    Trespassing and Safety

    Homeless issues are pervasive throughout the Metro area. Enforcement of trespassing on property near City Ditch would need to be handled through the local police enforcement departments. Englewood Utilities is not equipped nor responsible for enforcing these laws.

    Construction Impacts

    Construction impacts will be temporary. It is estimated that active construction will last about 6-8 months in each area of pipe installation. Englewood has selected HEI Civil for this project, who has significant experience in large-diameter pipeline construction, including experience in urban and high-density areas. The City and HEI will work together with neighbors near City Ditch to ensure there is clear and early communication prior to and during construction. Englewood will work to minimize disruption. Our contractor will work closely with residents to address issues that occur.

Page last updated: 17 Dec 2025, 10:17 AM