KJ to Design Drinking Water Delivery Pipelines for Arkansas Valley Conduit System, Bringing Reliable Water to Rural Colorado Communities

Kennedy Jenks (KJ) announces that the firm is designing 221,000 linear feet (42 miles) of 8- to 20-inch diameter water pipeline through Otero County, Colorado, for the Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District (Southeastern) as part of the larger, 130-mile Arkansas Valley Conduit (AVC) water delivery system. When complete, the AVC system will deliver water to 50,000 Coloradans in 39 communities across six counties.

The long-awaited AVC system is a program six decades in the making. AVC is made up of the main trunkline, being designed by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, and delivery lines, for which Southeastern has responsibility to design.

Given the current water quality in southeastern Colorado, which faces naturally occurring radionuclide contamination and high salinity, many residents have had to install their own filtration systems or purchase bottled water to meet their everyday needs. When complete, the AVC will enhance the lives of the community by providing a reliable, clean water source to the residents.

This project is personal to us at KJ, Greg Sekera, KJ’s Project Manager, and I grew up here. We both have lived and worked in the Arkansas Valley. We have deep familial and community ties to the region, and we are proud to work on the delivery lines that will bring high quality water to residents. We believe everyone deserves access to clean, safe drinking water and to play any part in that is a great honor for our team. — Jerry Peña, Principal-in-Charge for KJ

Originally authorized by Congress as part of the Fryingpan-Arkansas Project Act in 1962, funding for a project of this size and scope was challenging to obtain. After decades of advocacy and collaboration, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, State of Colorado, Southeastern, and local water districts obtained the funds needed for the project to gain traction in the 2010s and 2020s, including $160M for the federal portion of the AVC project. The State of Colorado has committed up to $120M to build the AVC delivery lines. 

For more information about the Arkansas Valley Conduit project, click here: https://www.usbr.gov/gp/ecao/avc/.