Salvageable material from six houses acquired by Colorado Springs Utilities in Pueblo West are going to be donated to Pueblo Habitat for Humanity.
The utility acquired the houses because of their proximity to the right-of-way that will be needed for the Southern Delivery System, a 62-mile pipeline that will bring water from Pueblo Reservoir to Colorado Springs.
“We are very appreciative of how cooperative these property owners have been in the land acquisition process. They have all been great to work with. And now it is even more gratifying to see the materials from these homes reused for such a positive purpose,” John Fredell, SDS project director, stated in a press release. ”Habitat for Humanity is a wonderful organization and we view this as a great way to give back to the community.”
As each house is vacated, Pueblo Habitat for Humanity staff and volunteers will remove usable items such as appliances, garage doors, cabinets, light fixtures, sinks, toilets, blinds, curtains, as well as hardware from doors and cabinets.
Leonard Andrews, president of the Pueblo Habitat board of directors, said the arrangement is also a boon for the environment. “Often, materials from homes purchased for municipal construction projects end up in a landfill,” he stated.
According to the press release, construction on the pipeline is scheduled to begin in 2011. Currently, CSU officials and Bureau of Reclamation officials are trying to negotiate a long-term contract that would allow the SDS partners to store non-federal water in Pueblo Reservoir, which is part of a vast water collection system owned by the federal government that brings water from the West Slope to the East Slope.
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