After hearing from many mountain residents at a public hearing March 20, the Jefferson County Commissioners unanimously endorsed the concept of the proposed Mountain Ground Water Overlay District but agreed to remand the proposed regulations to the county's Planning Commission for further review and analysis.
Many residents testified at the hearing and raised questions that the commissioners felt needed analyzing before their make their final decision.
Some residents who testified are also hydrologists, geologists, engineers, water well drillers, and other experts in water resource issues. Others attending the evening hearing to speak for and against the proposed regulations were homeowners from areas like Evergreen, Conifer, Turkey Creek and Coal Creek Canyon who depend on private wells as their source of water.
The county has been looking into ways for people to know more about well water supplies since 1997 when it began working with the United States Geologic Survey (USGS) and other interested parties to study the water resources of the Turkey Creek Watershed. The results of that study indicated that mountain ground water supplies are limited and could be affected by well use and future development.
The proposed overlay district regulations were drafted last year with input from a Planning Action Committee (PAC). The PAC was comprised of community representatives, groundwater professionals, the Jefferson County Association of Realtors, Colorado Geological Survey, Environmental Protection Agency and Colorado School of Mines. The PAC provided guidance and input for the proposed regulation.
A ground water overlay district establishes certain criteria for the area of the county underlain by fractured crystalline rock to ensure an adequate water supply is maintained for current development, as well as development that may take place in the future.
The objectives of the proposed overlay district are to protect the rights of all property owners, promote sustainable development and develop performance standards to demonstrate an adequate water supply for the proposed use.
The regulations would require a property owner to have a Well Yield Test completed to demonstrate an adequate water supply prior to a building permit being issued for new construction or for additions that increase the number of bedrooms or amount of water used.
One issue raised at the hearing was whether a land developer must conduct a hydrogeologic report to show how the proposed well water supply would impact the existing wells and drainage area. This item had been recommended by the county staff and the PAC, but had been removed from the proposal by the Planning Commission, which questioned the value and expense of such additional studies. Several in the audience felt the hydrogeologic report is extremely important: others felt it isn't necessary.
Commissioner Kevin McCasky, in making the motion to send the proposal back to the Planning Commission, said the proposed regulations are a very common sense approach to an important issue. McCasky said the experts did not seem to agree on the hydrogeologic report element, so asked for it to be remanded to the Planning Commission for further study, and asked the staff of the Planning and Zoning Division to further analyze the testimony from the evening's meeting. Commissioners Jim Congrove, Chairman, and Kathy Hartman were in agreement with McCasky's motion.
If approved by the Commissioners, the Zoning Resolution will be revised to establish a new section, to be known as the "Mountain Ground Water Overlay District" and to make other changes relating to the overlay district and additional language will be added to the "Water Supply" provisions in the Land Development Regulation as it pertains to new development applications.
For more information or specific details, contact Patrick O'Connell at 303-271-8707 or poconnel@jeffco.us. You can also view more information online at www.jeffco.us/planning.
