Home / Environment / $20M Rescue Plan Funds Boost Water Quality in Douglas County
$20M Rescue Plan Funds Boost Water Quality in Douglas County
29 Aug
Summary
- $20M American Rescue Plan funds for new wastewater treatment facility
- Facility to improve water quality in Chatfield Reservoir and small communities
- Louviers residents refuse to join project, citing high water rates
In August 2025, Douglas County leaders broke ground on a new $35 million wastewater treatment facility near Littleton, Colorado. The project is being funded in part by $20 million from the American Rescue Plan, with the remaining costs covered by Dominion Water & Sanitation.
The new facility is expected to be a foundation for cleaner water and better infrastructure along the Highway 85 corridor, which includes the fast-growing Sterling Ranch development as well as the small community of Louviers. However, Louviers has refused to participate in the project, with the president of the Louviers Water and Sanitation district citing concerns over high water rates.
Douglas County Commissioner Abe Laydon emphasized that the project is a "pledge" to ensure that no community is too small to matter, and that every drop of water flowing from a tap must be worthy of public trust. The facility will use advanced treatment methods, including a micro bioreactor, to screen out solids and chemicals before discharging the treated water into the South Platte River.
While community members from Sterling Ranch and Roxborough attended the groundbreaking, Louviers was notably absent. County officials say the new facility will improve water quality in Chatfield Reservoir and update aging water infrastructure for small towns, but Louviers remains skeptical of the project.
