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Denver suburb taps into inactive gold mine for water supply

By 11/19/2018 | updated 7 years ago

AURORA – A Denver suburb has finalized an unusual deal to acquire water from an inactive gold mine.

Aurora city officials said Friday the $34 million deal gives the city the rights to about 1,400 acre-feet of water a year from the London Mine outside Alma, about 100 miles to the west.

An acre-foot is enough to supply one typical U.S. household for a year.

City officials say the water would normally flow into the South Platte River, which eventually passes through the Denver area, but a geologic fault traps it in the mine.

Aurora isn’t purchasing the mine itself.

City officials say mines aren’t a common supplier for utilities, but water is increasingly harder to find in Colorado. Like other cities, Aurora is searching for new sources as its population grows.

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