Triview Metro District has made great strides in securing sustainable water sources, reducing reliance on non-renewable groundwater and ensuring the community has reliable water for the future. With the completion of the Northern Delivery System in 2024, Triview is now able to meet over 80% of future water needs with renewable supplies, supporting long-term growth and resiliency. To learn more about how these efforts benefit our community, check out the full summary document.
Water Source Primer
My name is Marco Fiorito, and I am a previous member of the Board of Directors of the Triview Metro District. Along with staff, other Directors, and the district’s consultants, I assembled this primer on water after repeatedly observing inaccurate, misleading and erroneous information during various public forums and on social media.
How Triview pays for purchasing renewable water
Bonds $40+ million
(issued bonds for water rights, existing storage and infrastructure)
$22 million
Cash purchase for Northern Delivery System
Triview purchases water from 3 regions
Upper Arkansas
Bale – Ownership of the Bale Ditch No. 1 and 50% of the Bale Ditch No. 2 shares representing approximately 92 acre-feet.
AVIC – Ownership of the Arkansas Valley Irrigation Company shares representing an average annual yield of approximately 569 acre-feet.
Lower Arkansas
Excelsior – Excelsior Irrigation Co. – Triview owns approximately 40.2% share of the Excelsior Irrigating Company, representing approximately 720.8 acre-feet.
Stonewall – this includes East, Central and South Reservoirs (19,538 acre-foot storage complex of which 1,630 acre feet of the South reservoir has been completed.) Triview has 19,538 shares in the Stonewall Springs Reservoir Company, representing approximately 19,538 acre-feet of conditional storage capacity.
Fountain Creek
Triview owns 1,057 shares in the Fountain Mutual Irrigation Company, which generates 740-acre feet of water per year, entitling Triview to 1,000 acre-feet of storage in the Big Johnson Reservoir.
Triview stores the water in 3 reservoirs
Big Johnson Reservoir
Access to water storage in Big Johnson Reservoir through its ownership of 1,057 shares of the Fountain Mutual Irrigation Company. (Approximately 1,000 acre-feet of storage)
Stonewall Springs Reservoir
2,050-acre-feet of storage through the Excelsior Ditch.
Ownership of 2,050 acre-feet of conditional water storage rights in the Stonewall Springs Reservoir Complex (1630 acre-feet of storage) filled by conveyance through the Excelsior Ditch, and 19,538 shares in the Stonewall Springs Reservoir Company, representing approximately 19,538 acre-feet of conditional storage capacity.
Pueblo Reservoir
In 2022, Triview was approved for a 1041 permit that allowed the district to store 999 acre-feet of water in Pueblo Reservoir through a 40-year lease. In 2023, Triview received approval on a second 1041 permit from Pueblo County for:
- Exchange of Triview water rights in the Excelsior Irrigating Company, Fountain Mutual Irrigation Company and other water rights delivered via Fountain Creek between Stonewall Springs Reservoir and Pueblo Reservoir;
- Storage of this water in Pueblo Reservoir;
- Operation of appropriate rights of exchange on Fountain Creek;
- Delivery through the Pueblo Reservoir North Outlet Works and the Southern Delivery System Pipeline and the Northern Delivery System project (under construction) to Triview’s municipal service area;
- Storage of water in Stonewall Springs Reservoir Complex (approximately 1,850-acre feet) for exchange and use by Triview and others; and permission to construct Stonewall Springs Central Reservoir.
Excess Storage Capacity and Conveyance Agreement in Pueblo Reservoir
Triview Renewable Water Plan
