Aurora seeks to buy Whitney Ditch water at Windsor

WINDSOR and AURORA — All eyes will be on the Aurora City Council tonight when it discusses whether to approve a resolution calling for an independent investigation of the Elijah McClain death, yet another issue involving actions of the Aurora Police Department.

But buried in the consent agenda is an item seeking approval for the purchase of 119 shares of the Whitney Ditch Co. and the drying up of 1,100 acres of historically irrigated farmland located mostly in the Great Western Industrial Park at Windsor. Purchase price, if approved by the council, will be $26,881,719.

Dawn Jewell, South Platte basin supervisor, said that a council member had pulled the item from the consent agenda, so some discussion could occur. 

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The water running through the Whitney Ditch is from the Cache La Poudre River. Seller of the water shares, which have an average yield of 1,629 acre feet of water — or about 531 million gallons, is BCI Waterco LLC, a company at 252 Clayton St. in Denver. The address is shared by The Broe Group and Great Western Railway, owners of the industrial park. 

The purchase is part of an effort that began in 2003 to buy water rights in the South Platte basin, dry up the land that had been irrigated by the water and bring the water to the thirsty urban developments within Aurora, Colorado’s third largest city behind Denver and Colorado Springs.

While the proposed purchase agreement includes a pipeline easement for land within the industrial park, getting the water to the Denver metro region is not included in the deal, nor is the required amendment of water court decrees to specify where the water will be used.

“We have had high level concept discussions” about getting the water to Aurora, but the city does not have a specific plan, Jewell said.

Getting the water to Aurora could be controversial. Another Denver suburb, Thornton, has filed an action in court after Larimer County rejected its attempts to locate a pipeline to transport its water shares from the Poudre to Thornton. 

Jewell said Aurora has purchased other water shares in Northern Colorado, but none from the Poudre. It has water rights from the South Platte main stem and some in the Greeley area, she said.

The city may choose to place the water in a reservoir in the region — it has one already west of Platteville — and seek an opportunity to exchange shares with someone else.

The deal is expected to close Aug. 31, according to city council documents.

Stacy Miller, who handles economic development for the town of Windsor, was not aware that the transaction was occurring. 

Calls to BCI Waterco were not returned before deadline. The Great Western industrial park, which includes some areas currently farmed, will eventually be developed for industrial and commercial uses, according to previously released plans for the area. 

This story may be updated as additional information becomes available.

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