Reclamation awards construction contract for Arkansas Valley Conduit treatment facilities

This contract funds construction of a backflow preventor connecting the main trunkline to Pueblo Water’s system, and a treatment facility to address specific water treatment needs for the Project. 

The backflow preventer will be constructed at 36th Lane and U.S. Highway 50, east of Pueblo. The treatment facility will be located along the AVC pipeline route about 4 miles east of 36th Lane. The treatment process will prepare the water for conveyance through the trunkline to Project communities and ensure compatibility of the water with the AVC participants’ water systems.

A 2022 three-party contract between the Bureau of Reclamation, Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District Board and the Pueblo Board of Water Works (Pueblo Water), eliminates the need for over 24 miles of pipeline by utilizing Pueblo Water’s existing infrastructure. The water will be either Fryingpan-Arkansas Project water or from participants’ water portfolios, not from Pueblo Water’s resources.

“This is another important step forward for the Arkansas Valley Conduit, and vital to begin providing high-quality drinking water to the people of the Lower Arkansas Valley. The Southeastern District has tremendous appreciation for the work that the Bureau of Reclamation and our congressional delegation have done to keep this project moving forward,” said Bill Long, President, Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District.

In addition to the contract for these facilities, in January, Reclamation awarded a $4.6 million contract to Central Geotechnical Services, LLC to locate and complete subsurface utility engineering surveys for underground utilities along a 34-mile stretch of the Arkansas Valley Conduit. Colorado legislation, SB 18-167, enacted in 2018, set new standards for entities conducting underground excavation.