The City Council voted 5-2 Tuesday to give Colorado Springs Utilities the authority to access property owned by Houston-based oil driller Ultra Resources in order to continue work on the Southern Delivery System water pipeline.

The city-owned utility says Ultra claims it isn’t trying to stop work on the 62-mile pipeline between Colorado Springs and Pueblo. But the company won’t grant Utilities access to its property despite repeated requests, said Lyman Ho, SDS land acquisition manager. The property is within the 18,000 acres of Banning Lewis Ranch that Ultra bought last year.

“At this time, I think a negotiated right of entry is within reach. However, the time schedule for the project requires that we need to move ahead,” Ho said.

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