To: Members of the Castle Rock Water Commission
From: Mark Marlowe, P.E., Director of Castle Rock Water
Lauren Moore, Water resources Manager
Emily, Huth, P.E., Project Manager CIP (Water)
Title
Resolution approving a Fourth Amendment to the Services Agreement between the Town of Castle Rock with Burns I& McDonnell Engineering Company, Inc. for the Chatfield Reservoir Pump Back Project [Located in Northwestern Douglas County]
Town Council Agenda Date: October 20, 2026
Body
________________________________________________________________________________
Executive Summary
Castle Rock Water (CRW) seeks Town Council approval of a Resolution (Attachment A) approving the Fourth Amendment to the Services Agreement (Exhibit 1) with Burns & McDonnell Engineering Company, Inc. (BMcD) for additional design and permitting services for the Chatfield Pump Back Project.
The original contract was authorized for $384,063.90, which included a contract value of $349,149.00 and a 10% contingency of $34,914.90. Three previous amendments extended the contract term and increased the contract value by $556,551.00, as well as an addition of $20,735.74to the town-managed contingency, to support completion of:
• 20% Design for Infrastructure Serving the Ravena Golf Couse; and
• Permitting services to obtain NEPA designation for the project.
This approval request includes an additional $301,049 to the contract value, for a total contract amount of $1,206,749.00, for additional design and easement acquisition services. This amendment also extends the contract date to December 31, 2027.
Notification and Outreach Efforts
Outreach to the Chatfield State Park (CSP) Leadership and the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) have been made. Partnership with CSP is crucial to identify the best lite location for the proposed intake pump station that will be constructed on the eastern shore of Chatfield Reservoir. Communications and collaboration with CSP have been ongoing during design development to reach alignment on site selection that will achieve CRW’s design requirements and minimize impacts to CSP’s operational staff and State Park Visitors. A pre-application meeting with USACE took place in July 2026 related to Section 404 and 408 permit reviews, this is important as permitting requirements are a large driver of the design scope and overall schedule for the project.
Outreach has been made to two landowners (City & County of Denver and Sterling Ranch) regarding potential land acquisition for the booster pump station facility. Initial outreach has been encouraging - CRW will continue to weigh cost and accessibility/construction considerations while selecting a site location.
Initial outreach to landowners along the proposed pipeline alignment has been ongoing and will continue as the pipeline alignment is finalized.
History of Past Town Council, Boards & Commissions, or Other Discussions
On August 31, 2022, Castle Rock Water Commission recommended approval of the Services Agreement between the Town of Castle Rock and Burns & McDonnell Engineering Company, Inc. for Chatfield Reservoir Pump Back Project Infrastructure Preliminary Engineering and Design Services.
On September 22, 2022, Town Council approved Resolution 2022-103 for the Services Agreement between the Town of Castle Rock and Burns & McDonnell Engineering Company, Inc. for Chatfield Reservoir Pump Back Project Infrastructure Preliminary Engineering and Design Services.
On September 20, 2023, Town Manager approved the First Amendment to the Services Agreement between the Town of Castle Rock and Burns & McDonnell Engineering Company, Inc. for Chatfield Reservoir Pump Back Project Infrastructure Preliminary Engineering and Design Services.
On September 5, 2024, Town Manager approved the Second Amendment to the Services Agreement between the Town of Castle Rock and Burns & McDonnell Engineering Company, Inc. for Chatfield Reservoir Pump Back Project Infrastructure Preliminary Engineering and Design Services.
On October 22, 2025, Castle Rock Water Commission approved the Third Amendment to the Services Agreement between the Town of Castle Rock and Burns & McDonnell Engineering Company, Inc. for Chatfield Reservoir Pump Back Project Infrastructure Preliminary Engineering and Design Services.
On November 4, 2025, Town Council approved Resolution 2025-141 for the Third Amendment to the Services Agreement between the Town of Castle Rock and Burns & McDonnell Engineering Company, Inc. for Chatfield Reservoir Pump Back Project Infrastructure Engineering and Design Services.
Discussion
The Town of Castle Rock (Town) has the capacity to store 2,000 acre-feet of water in the Chatfield Reservoir, which is owned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). This stored water originates from the Town’s junior water rights on the South Platte River and rights on East Plum Creek, West Plum Creek, Plum Creek, and Indian Creek.
Currently, there is no infrastructure that allows for direct transfer of water from Chatfield Reservoir back to the Town. To use the stored water, the Town relies on a transfer exchange whereby water is released from Chatfield Reservoir into Plum Creek in an amount equal to what is diverted at either of the Town’s diversions, CR-1 or Plum Creek Diversion (PCD), which supplies CRR1 and CRR2 reservoirs. PCD includes a pump station that transfers water from CRR1 and CRR2 to the Plum Creek Water Purification Facility (PCWPF) for treatment.
CRW’s Water Resources Strategic Master Plan identifies the Chatfield Reservoir Pump Back infrastructure as a key component of the Town’s renewable water strategy. Water from Chatfield Reservoir contains lower total dissolved solids (TDS) than the Plum Creek water currently diverted and stored in CRR1 and CRR2, making it a higher quality source for treatment. It is advantageous to have the ability to directly pump high-quality water from Chatfield Reservoir back to the Town for treatment and the Chatfield Pump Back project will ultimately achieve that goal. The ultimate goal of the project is to enable direct pumping of water from Chatfield Reservoir to the Town for purification and use.
The Chatfield Pump Back Project will include the following major infrastructure elements:
• An intake structure and pump station at Chatfield Reservoir;
• A booster pump station and possibly a storage/surge tank (approx. halfway and nearby Ravenna Golf Course);
• Infrastructure to deliver water to the Ravenna Golf Course, which is currently supplied from CRR1 and CRR2; and
• Approximately 12 miles overall of transmission pipeline ultimately connecting to CRR1 and CRR2.
In 2022, BMcD was competitively selected to provide preliminary engineering and design services for the project. This effort identified a preferred site for the intake and pump station within Chatfield State Park (land leased by USACE to the State of Colorado), potential sites for the booster pump station and tank, and a proposed pipeline alignment (with two alternatives under consideration for the initial segment). Amendments 1 and 2 were approved in 2023 and 2024, respectively, to extend the contract expiration date as collaboration and communications with external entities required additional time for project considerations and evaluations to be completed.
The Third Amendment was approved in November 2025 to advance the next phase of the project (Phase 1 Design). Phase 1 Design focuses on near-term infrastructure necessary to deliver water to the Ravenna Golf Course. It includes the intake and pump station at Chatfield Reservoir, approximately 5.5 miles of raw water pipeline, and potentially the booster pump station and tank, depending on final site selection. Key tasks added to the contract with this Amendment included the following:
• Finalize site locations for the booster pump station and storage tank;
• Environmental field surveys (habitat assessment and wetland delineation) required for NEPA determination, which is a prerequisite to Section 404 and 408 permitting; and
• Advance design to the 20% level to support USACE Section 404 and Section 408 pre-application reviews.
CRW requested that Burns & McDonnell prepare a scope and fee for additional design support as the Phase 1 20% design development occurred. Major components included in Amendment 4 include:
• Ravenna Pipeline Replacement. CRW staff requested the addition of scope to include replacement of the portion of the existing Ravenna pipeline between the booster pumping facility and the Ravenna Golf Course that was originally planned to be left as existing. The aging life and material type of this pipeline lead to frequent line breaks. It was determined to be preferred by CRW staff to address concerns with this pipeline as part of this project.
• Additional 20% Design. This Amendment will include 20% design of the Phase 2 related design scope - the remaining 6.5 miles of pipeline between the booster pump station and CRR1&2 Reservoirs. This also includes effort related to environmental field surveys for the additional miles of pipeline.
• Additional Easement Support Services. As Sterling Ranch continues to quickly develop, it is crucial that property and easement acquisition for the booster pump station facility be completed as soon as possible. This task adds effort to perform meetings with landowners, market data studies, land appraisals, for two potential site locations and will support the Town to complete purchase of the selected site location.
• Contract extension to December 31, 2027.
The following table summarizes a timeline and brief summary of each Amendment.
|
Contract / Amendment |
Date Approved |
Summary |
|
Original Contract |
9/20/2022 |
Original project contract to complete preliminary design of reservoir intake, pipeline, pump station and pipeline infrastructure. However, it became clear that the investigative scope for site selection and potential partnering options was more involved than originally anticipated, so this phase of the scope primarily focused on partnering discussions and site selection for the intake pump station and preliminary pipeline alternative investigations. |
|
Amendment 1 |
9/22/2023 |
Project was primarily on hold as co-participant conversations were occurring. This Amendment extended the contract date by 366 days. The contract value was not changed. |
|
Amendment 2 |
9/5/2024 |
Project was primarily on hold as co-participant conversations were occurring. This Amendment extended the contract date by 365 days. The contract value was not changed. |
|
Amendment 3 |
11/4/2025 |
After establishing that partnering options were not available, an intake pump station site on the east side of Chatfield Reservoir was selected. Amendment 3 included design scope to reach 20% Design of the Phase 1 designated portion of the project (intake pump station, booster pump station, and 5.5 of the 12 miles of pipeline required for the project). This level of design included environmental, cultural, and historical analyses of the project footprint in order to submit a package to USACE for NEPA designation. This Amendment extended the contract to 12/31/2026. |
|
Amendment 4 |
Under Consideration |
This Amendment includes 20% design of the remaining 6.5 miles of pipeline. Easement and property acquisition services are also included as purchasing property for the booster pump station and easements for the proposed pipeline alignment are priority given the rapid development occurring in the project footprint. This Amendment will extend the contract to 12/31/2027. |
Budget Impact
Funding for this project will come from the account listed below. A budget transfer of $334,968 from Account 211-4375-443.77-75 will be completed to fund this project. No additional town-managed contingency will be requested with this Amendment.
|
Account Number |
Current Balance |
Amendment 3 Requested Authorization |
Budget Transfer |
Account Balance |
|
211-4375-443.78-03 (Chatfield Pump Back Project) |
($33,919) |
$301,049 |
$334,968 |
$301,049 |
The following table summarizes the total authorization requests for this project, including Amendment 4, which is under consideration. Amendments 1 and 2 were executed to extend the contract date and did not impact the contract value. The previously approved town-managed contingency of $55,650.64 is not being modified with this Amendment request.
|
Agreement |
Contract |
Contingency |
Total Authorization |
|
Previously Approved |
|
RESO 2022-103 Original Agreement (Approved 9/20/2022) |
$349,149.00 |
$34,914.90 |
$384,063.90 |
|
Amendment 1 (Approved 9/22/2023) |
- |
- |
- |
|
Amendment 2 (Approved 9/5/2024) |
- |
- |
- |
|
Amendment 3 (Approved 11/4/2025) |
$556,551.00 |
$20,735.74 |
$577,286.74 |
|
Approved Total |
$905,700.00 |
$55,650.64 |
$961,350.64- |
|
Under Consideration |
|
Amendment 4 |
$301,049.00 |
$0.00 |
$301,049.00 |
|
Amended Total |
$1,206,749.00 |
$55,650.64 |
$1,262,399.64 |
Staff Recommendation
Staff recommends Town Council approval of the Fourth Amendment to the Services Agreement with Burns & McDonnell Engineering, Inc. for continued design and permitting services for the Chatfield Reservoir Pump Back Project.
Proposed Motion
“I move to approve the Resolution as introduced by title.”
Alternative Motions
“I move to approve the resolution as introduced by title, with the following conditions: (list conditions).
“I move to continue this item to the Town Council meeting on _____ date to allow additional time to (list information needed).”
Attachments
Attachment A: Resolution (Not Attached)
Exhibit 1: Agreement
Attachment B: Location Map