Property tax bills reveal little-known fact about the project behind this reservoir As many Colorado Springs residents receive their property tax bills this tax season, they’ll notice a line that reads, "Southeastern Colo. Wtr. Conservancy." This is an abbreviation for the Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District, the oversight agency for the federally-owned Fryingpan-Arkansas Project, which includes Pueblo Reservoir. Since 1959, this annual contribution has helped repay the federal loan for the Fryingpan-Arkansas Project. The project was authorized by Congress decades ago to bring more water from Colorado’s western slope to the more-populated Arkansas River Basin. El Paso County residents have by far contributed the most to the project with more than $65 million in property taxes over the past 47 years (see attached graph for more details). Colorado Springs’ portion will continue to increase each year as local population grows. The project benefits our residents and other neighboring communities along the Arkansas River – from Buena Vista to Lamar – and Fountain Creek – from Colorado Springs to Pueblo. To responsibly protect this significant investment by Colorado Springs taxpayers, Colorado Springs Utilities plans to use Pueblo Reservoir’s storage capacity to deliver Colorado Springs’ water rights to the Pikes Peak region with the proposed Southern Delivery System.
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