Page 149 - Littleton, CO Comprehensive Plan

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UTILITIES AND PUBLIC FACILITIES

While the City of Littleton does not directly maintain the parkland and trails within its jurisdiction, and it recently ended its
direct operation of municipal fire services, the City still must devote significant resources to public infrastructure and
facilities to serve its residents and visitors to the community.

23+ million Gallons of wastewater treated each day at the

regional wastewater facility co-owned by the cities
of Littleton and Englewood.

The facility is operated through the entity South Platte Water Renewal Partners (SPWRP), in which the City of Littleton
is a lead partner along with the City of Englewood. Partnerships are among the City’s short list of Strategic
Imperatives, and the Comprehensive Plan will reinforce all such opportunities that promote cost and operational
efficiencies through economies of scale.
The daily treatment volume statistic cited above reflects that, in
terms of its size and sophistication, the SPWRP facility is the third
largest water renewal facility in Colorado. It serves an area with
approximately 300,000 residents in both cities plus 19 other
connecting districts that maintain their own wastewater collection
systems. Wastewater enters the facility through an interceptor pipe
from Littleton (66 inches in diameter) and one from Englewood (60 inches in diameter). The SPWRP plant is located
within Englewood, northwest of the intersection of Santa Fe Drive and Dartmouth Avenue, along the east bank of the
South Platte River, which is the ultimate destination for its treated effluent.

Renewed water makes up a large part of the South Platte River flow most of the year. Plant effluent actually exceeds
normal river flow during certain times of the year. In this situation, wastewater effluent, storm water runoff, and irrigation
return flows have a major impact on river water quality.

The SPWRP facility operates in compliance with a Colorado Discharge Permit System (CDPS) permit which must be
renewed approximately every five years through the Water Quality Control Division of the Colorado Department of Public
Health and Environment. The permit includes stringent numeric limits for a wide range of pollutants to ensure the
protection of downstream water quality, even when river flows are very low. The facility removes approximately 99 percent
of total suspended solids and organic matter. SPWRP is preparing to meet more stringent limits for nutrients and
temperature to further benefit downstream aquatic life.

The Colorado Water Quality Control Commission establishes overall regulations and numeric standards specific to
individual water bodies and stream segments (the SPWRP facility discharges to Segment 14 in the Middle South Platte
River Basin). As part of overall water quality protection, such standards are also intended to ensure protection of water
uses downstream from wastewater treatment facilities, including water supply, recreation, aquatic life, and agriculture.
As the 2018 vision process reconfirmed the Platte River as among the “crown jewels” of Littleton in the eyes
of its residents and officials, the long-term integrity of the river corridor is expected to be a core focus of the
Comprehensive Plan.

Source: South Platte Waste Renewal Partners.