Platte Valley partnership settles objections to South Platte water right
A water court issued a final decree Oct. 2, but Castle Rock staff estimate infrastructure to deliver the water could take 20 to 30 years to build.
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The Platte Valley Water Partnership settled objections from more than 50 people to its application for a conditional South Platte River storage right, avoiding litigation, Castle Rock staff member Mark Marlow told Town Council on Oct. 20. A town staff report says the water-court case received a final decree on Oct. 2, 2026.
The 2021 application, Case 21CW3185, concerns storage in a proposed Fremont Butte Reservoir. The town staff report describes the right as allowing a maximum annual diversion of 16,037 acre-feet. That is a potential diversion, not a guarantee of water delivered to Castle Rock. Marlow said the settlement process cost about $885,000.
The decree does not put water into Castle Rock’s system. Marlow estimated it could take 20 to 30 years to build the infrastructure needed to use the water in town. The project partners’ overview describes planned storage and pipeline facilities to move water from the lower South Platte toward Rueter-Hess Reservoir, with planning, engineering, property acquisition and permitting among the ongoing work.