Fountain is locking in a long-term water play, approving a 50-year lease that pulls treated groundwater from wells at historic Venetucci Farm into the city system and clears room for roughly 2,000 new home taps. City officials say the supply will be phased in over the next several years so the utility can add development without immediately triggering expensive system upgrades.
Council Signs 50-Year Lease
The City Council signed off on a 50-year agreement with the Security Water and Sanitation District that runs through 2076 and enlarges Fountain's share of the Venetucci wellfield, according to the Colorado Springs Gazette. The Gazette reports that Fountain's portion of the wellfield is expected to climb to about 38.6% by 2030, shifting more of the Venetucci output into the city’s column.
How Much Water Is Coming?
City materials and local TV coverage put the incoming treated supply at about 386.4 acre-feet per year, enough to serve around 2,000 single-family homes, according to KKTV. A separate staff estimate cited by Colorado Public Radio lands higher, at roughly 521 acre-feet annually, a gap city officials say reflects the gradual ramp-up in deliveries and different ways of counting that phase-in.
Where The Water Will Be Used
City leaders have already sketched out how to carve up the new supply. Half of the additional water is earmarked for residential taps, 30% is set aside for commercial and industrial customers, and the remaining 20% will sit in a city reserve for public projects, according to the council presentation and local reporting. That plan is expected to boost overall system capacity by roughly 20% while avoiding major new pipeline construction during the early years of the rollout, the Colorado Springs Gazette reported.
Price Tag And Delivery Details
Fountain currently spends about $3.3 million a year on water supply, and city estimates suggest the lease will add roughly $40,000 to that bill this year, rising to about $190,000 annually by 2030 once the city's full share is in play. The contract is structured as a "take-or-pay" lease, meaning participating entities pay for their full paper allocation each year even if they are not yet using every drop, city staff told KOAA.
Venetucci Farm's Role - And PFAS Treatment
The wells sit beneath Venetucci Farm, the once-iconic pumpkin patch property that is now overseen by local philanthropic foundations and has been repurposed for events and flower farming after PFAS contamination cut off edible crop sales. Local reporting and the farm's operators say water from the Venetucci wells will pass through PFAS treatment before entering Fountain's distribution system so it meets primary drinking-water standards, according to KRDO.
What Comes Next
With the lease approved, city staff says developers can begin lining up for new taps, but they caution that deliveries from Venetucci will be brought online gradually over several years. Taylor Murphy, Fountain's water resources manager, said the utility has to "bake in factors of safety and allocation" as the additional water comes into the system, according to Colorado Public Radio.
