Evans commissions three-system water master plan after non-potable failures

Evans commissions three-system water master plan after non-potable failuresEvans City Council has awarded Freese and Nichols a contract worth up to $272,398.50 to produce a new water master plan covering potable supply, pressurised non-potable networks and the Evans Ditch/GLIC lateral system. The plan is intended to provide a capital roadmap and inputs for a future rate study.

Council unanimously awarded Freese and Nichols a $247,635 professional-services contract, plus a 10% contingency of $24,763.50.

The plan will separately assess the potable network, pressurised non-potable system and gravity-fed Evans Ditch and GLIC laterals.

Staff cited 2025 ditch failures and 2026 non-potable pump-station outages of more than three weeks in Willowbrook, North Point and Neville's Crossing.

The city aims to complete the plan in time for the next budget cycle and use it to inform a water rate study.

Council also accepted a $105,697 Colorado Water Conservation Board grant for an integrated water-efficiency and drought-readiness plan.

Evans City Council has approved a water master-planning contract worth up to $272,398.50, directing Freese and Nichols to develop a capital and asset-management roadmap across the city's potable, pressurised non-potable and gravity-fed ditch systems. The unanimous October 6 decision follows Evans' analysis of its future water position after deciding that participation in the Northern Integrated Supply Project was not financially advantageous. Assistant City Manager Ty Bureski told council that the city's existing water master plan is more than a decade old and provides insufficient detail on the non-potable network and ditch infrastructure. The approved contract comprises $247,635 in professional services and a 10% contingency of $24,763.50. Staff said the contingency was included because asset investigations could identify additional work. Freese and Nichols was both the lowest bidder and the highest-ranked proposer following the city's evaluation; three proposals were received. The assignment will treat the city's three water systems as separate but related assets. It will reassess the potable distribution network in light of a decade of growth, examine the condition and maintenance needs of the pressurised non-potable system from pump stations downstream, and assess the gravity-fed Evans Ditch and GLIC laterals. Bureski said recent operational events had sharpened the need for the broader scope. Heavy rainfall contributed to ditch failures in 2025, while hot and dry conditions in 2026 pushed the non-potable system beyond its limits. Pump-station systems serving Willowbrook, North Point and Neville's Crossing were out of service for more than three weeks, according to staff. The master plan will also examine pump-station capacity, opportunities to extend non-potable service, and the feasibility and cost of metering currently unmetered non-potable customers. Staff said it needs a clearer understanding of the costs of operating the ditch and non-potable systems, as well as the infrastructure required to maintain them. Evans intends to complete the plan in time to incorporate its findings into the next budget process and a water rate study. Bureski said the rate work will address issues including cost of service, equitable charges across systems and the city's in-city and out-of-city rates. The planning contract will not delay work planned for the Willowbrook non-potable system. Council had budgeted $600,000 for Willowbrook in 2026, and the engineering team is preparing a separate scope for design work. In a related decision, council unanimously accepted a $105,697 Colorado Water Conservation Board Water Plan Grant. The funding will offset the cost of an integrated water-efficiency and drought-readiness plan, combining Evans' state-required seven-year water-efficiency planning with an update of its 2013 drought plan.