A 2-million-gallon underground water tank, which will be the final piece of major infrastructure for the regional Water Infrastructure and Supply Efficiency (WISE) project, is under construction in northwest Douglas County.

“This will be big enough to provide most of the (water) demands that would be necessary for Douglas County for a long time,” said Mary Kay Provaznik, general manager of Dominion Water and Sanitation.

The $5 million project will provide storage for drinking water to the customers of Dominion Water and fire-flow capacity for the Highway 85 corridor. About half of the capacity will go to emergency services, which can be shared in the region, according to a release from the water district.

The tank, which will hold as much water as three Olympic-size swimming pools, will be 30 feet tall and buried in an area between Roxborough Park and Louviers.

The tank will be the final major piece of the WISE water project, which began about seven years ago. WISE is a partnership between South Metro Water Supply Authority, Denver Water and Aurora Water. The goal of the project is for these entities to share supplies and infrastructure to reduce the region’s reliance on non-renewable water sources.

“The interest in developing in this area is now possible,” Provaznik said. “Nobody knew how they could develop because there was no way to get renewable water. Now there’s a choice.”

Dominion Water, a special district serving a 33,000 acre area in northwest Douglas County, was formed in 2004 and includes Sterling Ranch, Roxborough and Sedalia. 

Construction on the High Zone Water Storage project began in April and is expected to be completed by the end of the year, she said. 

“This area used to be thought of as the dry area,” she said. “And now, we’re the leaders on how to bring renewable water to areas.”