Arkansas Valley Conduit

Overview

The Arkansas Valley Conduit (AVC) is a major infrastructure project that, upon completion, will provide reliable municipal and industrial water to 39 communities in Southeastern Colorado. The pipelines will bring water from Pueblo Reservoir to Bent, Crowley, Kiowa, Otero, Prowers, and Pueblo counties. It is projected to serve up to 50,000 people in the future (equivalent to 7,500 acre-feet per year).

Currently, many people in these areas rely on groundwater supplies that may contain naturally occurring radionuclides such as radium and uranium. Alternatives for these communities consist of expensive options such as reverse-osmosis, ion exchange, filtration, and bottled water. The region’s health and welfare depend on a reliable source of clean, safe water.

The Fryingpan-Arkansas Project Act, signed in 1962 by President John F. Kennedy, authorized construction of the AVC, but it was never constructed because the communities could not afford 100 percent of the costs. Public Law 111-11, signed by President Barack Obama in 2009, provided 65 percent federal funding for the Arkansas Valley Conduit. A preferred project design was identified in 2014.

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation worked with Project sponsors (the Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District) to reduce costs, the need for federal appropriations, and the time needed to construct the AVC.

These funds have been allocated towards planning and design work, regulatory compliance activities, payment to Pueblo Water for conveyance through the city, and construction on Boone Reach 1 and 2.

Funding

    • From 2010 through 2019, Reclamation funded just under $30 million for the AVC through regular appropriations.
    • In 2020, Congress provided a $28 million appropriation to move the Project into construction.
    • From 2021 through 2023, Reclamation funded $31.5 million for the AVC through regular appropriations.
    • In 2022, the AVC received $60 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
    • In 2023, the AVC received $100 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law
    • In 2024, the AVC received $90 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law

History

The Arkansas Valley Conduit (AVC) dates back more than six decades.

Cities and chambers of commerce in Southeastern Colorado began talking about a pipeline project in the 1950s as a way to deal with a chronically poor water supply in the Lower Arkansas Valley. The Arkansas River had been heavily appropriated for irrigated agriculture, and groundwater was brackish. The Water Development Association of Southern Colorado sold golden frying pans up and down the valley to promote the Fryingpan-Arkansas Project, which held the promise of bringing a supplemental supply of water for both irrigation and domestic use.

The Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District was formed in Pueblo District Court in 1958 as the local sponsor of the Fry-Ark Project. The District includes parts of nine counties, including six which are part of the AVC.

The AVC was authorized in the original Fry-Ark Project legislation in 1962 (Public Law 87-590). The AVC would not increase Fry-Ark Project water diversions from the western slope of Colorado; rather, it was intended to improve drinking water quality.

The AVC was not constructed with the original Fry-Ark Project primarily because of the beneficiaries’ inability to repay 100 percent of construction costs as identified to be required in the Public Law 87-590. In 2009, Congress amended the original Fry-Ark Project legislation in Public Law 111-11, which authorized annual federal funding, as necessary, for constructing the AVC, and provided that 35 percent of total Project construction costs would be repaid by local Project beneficiaries over a period of no more than 50 years.

The Bureau of Reclamation’s Technical Service Center (TSC) in Denver compared seven pipeline designs (six action alternatives plus no action) under the Final EIS. A Record of Decision (ROD) was signed by Reclamation’s Great Plains (now known as Missouri Basin) Regional Director in February 2014 which selected the “Comanche North Alternative” for implementation. This alternative then became known as the “Preferred Alternative."

In late 2023, ECAO initiated an effort to understand the effects of inflation, scope changes, and design refinement on AVC estimated costs. These revised estimates place the project cost at $1.4B (based on October 2023 prices), roughly doubling the 2016 cost estimates.

Despite estimated project cost increases, the cost of the pipeline remains comparable to construction costs of similar pipelines currently under construction by Reclamation. Reclamation and Southeastern continue to evaluate strategies for addressing the project funding needs and potential impacts on repayment requirements for the project.

Map

AVC Map

Active Participants

Bent County
  • Hasty Water Company
  • Las Animas
  • McClave Water Association
Crowley County
  • 96 Pipeline Company
  • Crowley County Water Association
  • Crowley
  • Olney Springs
  • Ordway
  • Sugar City
Kiowa County
  • Eads
Otero County
  • Beehive Water Assn.
  • Bents Fort Water Co.
  • Town of Cheraw
  • East End Water Assn.
  • Eureka Water Co.
  • Fayette Water Assn.
  • Fowler
  • Hancock Inc.
  • Hilltop Water Co.
  • Holbrook Center Soft Water
  • Homestead Improvement
  • La Junta
  • Manzanola
  • Newdale-Grand Valley North Holbrook Water
  • Patterson Valley
  • Riverside Water Co.
  • Rocky Ford
  • South Side Water Assn.
  • South Swink Water Co.
  • Swink
  • Valley Water Co.
  • Vroman
  • West Grand Valley Water
  • West Holbrook Water
Prowers County
  • Lamar
  • May Valley Water Assn.
  • Wiley
Pueblo County
  • Avondale
  • Boone

Project Timeline

  • March 18, 2022 – Arkansas Valley Conduit three-Party contract approved
  • September 29, 2022 – Contract awarded for Boone Reach 1 trunk line section
  • September 15, 2023 – Contract awarded for Boone Reach 2 trunk line section
  • January 2024 – Contract awarded for subsurface utility surveys
  • February 29, 2024 –Contract awarded for Injection Site and Backflow preventer site

Point of Contact

Derek Mickle

Engineering Services Branch

Bureau of Reclamation, Eastern Colorado Area Office

11056 W County Rd 18E, Loveland, CO 80537

(970) 461-5466

dmickle@usbr.gov

Last Updated: 7/2/24