Cherokee Metro proposes 3-million-gallon water tank near Mark Dabling Boulevard
The district says the tank would provide maintenance redundancy for a system serving about 23,000 people, but the rezoning outcome, final cost, funding source and ratepayer effects remain unconfirmed.
Cherokee Metropolitan District is proposing a 3-million-gallon potable-water tank beside an existing 5-million-gallon tank near 5325 Mark Dabling Boulevard. The district says the project would allow either tank to be taken offline for inspection and maintenance without interrupting service to roughly 23,000 residents.
The district anticipates the new tank could be operating by the end of 2026, according to its land-use statement. The project would include interconnecting pipes, tank equipment, electrical improvements and related site work. Cherokee Metro would own and maintain the infrastructure and inspect the existing tank after the new one is operating.
The district serves eastern and central El Paso County, including Schriever Space Force Base, with groundwater from the Black Squirrel Alluvial Aquifer. Cherokee Metro says the facility also would support water pressure south of Tamlin Road and provide a connection point to Woodmen Hills.
Rezoning status remains unclear
Rezoning application ZONE-25-0017 covers two parcels totaling about 4.878 acres. The staff presentation rounds the area to 4.88 acres, while the applicant’s materials describe it as approximately 4.9 acres.
That acreage differs from the 5.41-acre Mark Dabling rezoning proposal described in the previous story. The current documents do not explain the change or how it relates to the earlier City Council action.
The City Planning Commission staff presentation says staff found the application consistent with the city’s zone-map-amendment criteria. But it provides only optional motions to recommend approval or denial to City Council; it does not document a Planning Commission vote, a City Council decision, an approved rezoning ordinance or a withdrawal.
The records also describe the proposed overlays inconsistently. The staff presentation describes the requested zoning as PF/AP-O with either a Streamside or Airport overlay. The rezoning exhibits label it PF/AP-O/SS-O, or Public Facility with Airport and Streamside overlays.
Cost and review questions
A June 2024 Cherokee Metro board agenda identifies $1 million as budgeted for a new Tank 5. It also proposed transferring $60,000 for Well 15 repairs and $89,000 for Well 13 repairs from that budget. The agenda does not establish the tank’s final construction cost.
An August 2025 board agenda lists a DN Tanks Tank 5 construction contract, but the accessible agenda does not state its amount or financing terms. Available records do not identify whether the project would be financed through reserves, bonds, loans, grants, tap fees or another source.
The records also do not document a rate increase, surcharge or other quantified effect on Cherokee Metro customers. The district’s 2024 audit says the water and wastewater enterprise fund generally relies on user charges, tap fees and, when needed, bond financing for capital projects, but it does not identify the funding source or rate impact for Tank 5.
Technical reviews remain incomplete. Traffic engineering comments and any traffic-impact-study determination were deferred to development-plan review. Stormwater and drainage comments were deferred until a drainage report is submitted, and Colorado Springs Utilities’ comments were deferred until preliminary utility and public-facilities plans are submitted.
The applicant says traffic would be minimal and a traffic-impact study would not be required, but those statements are not final approvals. The project statement says a drainage report and stormwater-management plan will address erosion and runoff and that existing access roads would be used during construction. No development plan or final drainage, traffic or utility approval is included in the available record.