Water 2025 FAQs

Why is the City doing Water 2025?

Water 2025 is a long-term planning project to replace the City of Westminster’s aging Semper Water Treatment Facility. Our water distribution system requires continuous maintenance and planned upgrades to ensure high-quality drinking water now and in the future.

Semper Water Treatment Facility has served the Westminster community faithfully for almost 50 years and has the ability to continue providing high-quality drinking water for 15 to 20 more years. However, as Semper nears the end of its planned lifecycle, the city must begin proactively planning for a new drinking water treatment facility to meet the needs of our current and future generations who rely on this essential public service.

As Westminster’s current drinking water treatment system continues to age it becomes more expensive to maintain. It also becomes increasingly vulnerable to threats posed by drought and wildfire. We need to responsibly plan for the needs of future generations so our children can enjoy the same quality of life we do today.

How much will the project cost? Who will pay for it?

The program costs are included in the Capital Improvement Program presented to Council. Current approvals from Council are through 2020, with 2021-2023 included for their review. The project is funded by borrowing money in the short term to be paid back by water bills over time. This debt funding allows for generational equity, wherin the customers benefiting from the project over the next several decades share the costs of the project.

What are the expected benefits of this project?

Building a new treatment plant will be more efficient and more cost-effective for our customers than upgrades to existing facilities. A new drinking water facility using advanced technology will provide:

Greater resiliency in times of challenging treatment, such as a wildfire in our watershed.
Greater flexibility to adapt to changing regulatory standards.
Greater security to address future shortages in our water supply.
Greater opportunities for environmental sustainability and resource stewardship.

What are the potential impacts of this project?

Water 2025 has identified the site for our new drinking water facility. Construction of the facility and the raw and finished water pipelines to serve the facility is expected to begin in 2023.

Current work is identifying the optimal treatment processes to construct and acquiring the identified site.

The identified site is currently privately owned with a comprehensive plan designation of Mixed-use Center.

We have assembled a Design Working Group, composed of community members, to provide input for decision making around the architecture, landscaping, and construction management of the facility.

Does this project consider environmental factors?

Yes! The site selection considered multiple environmental factors such as energy, floodplain, and impact to open space.

Moving forward, the project will use Envision, a certification framework for sustainable infrastructure projects, to guide decisions on the project.

Will there be construction? When will it start?

Construction will occur on the site of the new facility as well as to route raw and finished water pipelines to the new facility. Construction is expected no sooner than 2020.

How can I get involved in the process?

The City of Westminster’s Water 2025 team understands the importance of community feedback in locating a site for our new drinking water facility. Your input and ideas will be gathered throughout the process through a series of community events and workshops, digital surveys, online updates and more. Get in touch with the project team and sign up for updates.

Who is involved in Water 2025?

Water 2025 is a City of Westminster-led project. The Water 2025 project team includes City staff, as well as engineering experts.

The City of Westminster is also forming a volunteer Design Working Group comprised of community members to inform the design of the new water treatment facility. This group will meet five times in 2020 and 2021 to provide input to be considered by the design and construction team regarding aesthetics and construction management and will help ensure that the facility becomes an integral part of our community.

Additional community feedback will be gathered throughout the project through a series of events, online updates and more.