Long term water supply (Fort Collins: townhome, to buy, utilities)

[jweb29]

I was wondering if there was any research into the trends on fort collins water supply. I guess I can safely assume it comes from the snowpack, and as the west continues to dry, and people continue to move here, I can't help but feel that we will hit a tipping point at some point, where water becomes hard to find.

I havent been able to find much on that though. Is there any research on Fort Collins long term plan on water supply, to handle both the increase of people, and the trending snowpack going down? (Or maybe it's not going down?)

[StealthRabbit]

check here (and give them a call, they are always willing to fill you in)
https://www.fcgov.com/utilities/what...er-monitoring/

Risks ... The water collection area has had a lot of burns, thus erosion / mudslides during reforestation (next 40 - 80 yrs).

Snowpack varies and has been on the decline. But that could change any time.

Ft Collins will be conservative on water issues and conservation is highly encouraged.

Colorado state has very restrictive water policies, so may be your bigger barrier. (I.e you cannot bury a 20,000g water storage tank in your Colorado backyard, but you can do that in many other states)

[RosieSD]

My daughter currently lives in Ft. Collins and before she and her husband bought a house, they were also concerned about this subject because they were moving from an area that has had problems with droughts in the past.

One of the big issues with water is that the city of Fort Collins doesn't "own" all of the water that comes down the Poudre River. The water is also diverted throughout the area (via canals) to other water districts.

A possible future issue is that there are plans to build a large pipeline outside of city limits which may eventually end up diverting even more water away from the city of Fort Collins to cities even further south. This city objected to this plan but was recently overturned by the regional water authority.

Some have concerns that as water becomes less available, this pipeline might result in more water supply issues for Fort Collins.

I think another factor to consider is population growth. Fort Collins' population is predicted to grow pretty rapidly for a small city over the next 10-20 years, which may exacerbate any current water issues as well.

Separate from the pipeline, Fort Collins has already had several summers recently where water conservation efforts have been in place. Water is also (in my opinion) on the expensive side in Fort Collins, as we discovered when we rented a house there last summer for a few months.

Even if you live outside of the city, "water rights" to have a well are expensive and difficult to obtain, so that's not really a solution either unless you have a lot of money.

So, if you're considering a move to Fort Collins, the current & future water situation is definitely a subject to research further.

Here is an article from the local Fort Collins newspaper to get you started. If you do a search on the site, you'll find many other articles about water, water rights, and related issues. (Some of the articles are for subscribers only, but it's not expensive to subscribe)

https://www.coloradoan.com/story/new...ne/8107427002/

The City of Fort Collins has an excellent, highly informative website, where you can learn about many aspects of life in the city. It's really one of the better city websites I've seen. It should be on the reading list of everyone who is thinking of moving there.

Here is the direct link to Fort Collins' water info on their website, where you can get an idea of current prices. : https://www.fcgov.com/utilities/residential/rates/water.

(P.S. my daughter and son in law moved to Fort Collins and love living there. But, they ultimately decided to buy a townhome instead of a house with a yard. A small part of that decision was based on water costs and availability. )