Pueblo County officials remain wary of Colorado Springs water project
“A construction update on the $1 billion Southern Delivery System played out Friday like dinner theater with a polished cast of characters, intrigue and accusations.
Three Pueblo County commissioners sat back and listened to presentations by Colorado Springs Utilities highest ranking officials about the progress of the 53-mile pipeline that soon will carry millions of gallons of water from the Pueblo Reservoir north to Colorado Springs.
Commissioners also heard from distraught residents who said they had been lied to and wronged over the building of the pipeline that runs through their property. One resident displayed eight inches of paperwork accumulated in his legal battle with Utilities.
Then there was praise from local business owners who said the SDS project saved their businesses from despair in the down economy by providing millions in local contracts.
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Nearly 100 Pueblo businesses have been hired for the project for about $60 million in construction contracts. The project also required acquiring 160 pieces of land, most were easements and six were houses. Colorado Springs Utilities paid fair market value, said Keith Riley, SDS deputy program director. Utilities went through an eminent domain process with two property owners and is in the process of a court procedure with one property owner.”
Mendoza, Monica. The Gazette 20 September 2013.