Westminster Blvd. Drinking Water Project

What's Happening Now — Revised Draft Environmental Assessment Comment Period

Thank you to everyone who reviewed and provided comments on the revised draft environmental assessment (EA) report. The public comment period closed on February 28. The draft EAs can be found in the Documents section below.

Next, we will review all comments and incorporate them into the final EA where applicable. The final EA is anticipated to be published in the spring/summer of this year. Stay tuned for updates.

Project Summary

The City of Westminster is committed to providing affordable, high-quality water services. Semper and Northwest water treatment facilities currently supply more than nine billion gallons of clean and safe drinking water annually through over 500 miles of pipes to our residents and businesses.

The 54-year-old Semper Water Treatment Facility is nearing the end of its useful life and will soon need to be replaced. In 2015, the City began planning for a new water treatment facility to replace Semper.  Over the past two years, under City Council’s guidance, the City reevaluated the project and considered different options for the facility to better balance the community’s need for clean, safe, and affordable water after the community raised concerns about affordability.

The reevaluation focused on rightsizing the facility and associated infrastructure, which originally had an inflation-adjusted cost of over $300 million. As a thorough reevaluation, City Staff was able to reduce project cost by over $100 million, and City Council capped future rate adjustments to no more than 4.5% over the next decade. The approved Westminster Boulevard Drinking Water Project is a cost-effective, affordable solution with the flexibility to:

• Replace aging infrastructure and expand if needed.
• Respond to future state and federal clean water regulations.
• Build additional treatment processes to respond to potential future wildfire contamination and emerging contaminants. 

Preliminary estimates for constructing the new facility are upwards of $200 million. This preliminary cost estimate ranges from -15% to +30%.  As design progresses, the estimate will become more certain and will be adjusted to market conditions and prevailing construction valuation.

The new facility will ensure the community continues to have clean, safe, and affordable drinking water for generations to come.

Click here for an ADA accessible PDF of the above photo

On April 24, 2023, City Council adopted Resolution 13, directing City staff to pursue the construction of a water treatment facility along Westminster Boulevard between 98th and 104th avenues. The project is currently in the planning, permitting, and design phase, with an expected 2028 completion date.