Our sanitation system is, much like our water system, 35+ years old and in need of a complete overhaul. The system has never been properly permitted and there are major problems with its operation. The first pond’s lining is not properly documented and has lost its integrity. The surface irrigation system is not operating properly. There has been seasonal overflow of the finishing pond (the second pond). There is probable infiltration of the collection lines leading from the condos and homes to the treatment ponds, meaning that surface water is making its way into those lines, possibly from breaks in the piping. Altogether, the system fails to meet current CDPHE standards.
The CDPHE has been generous in not placing our District under an enforcement order because it knows we have been diligently solving our water system problems. However, CDPHE expects the District to now move to renovate our sanitation system to bring it into compliance with current standards and receive a full permit to operate.
The Board is in the second year of a 4 year project to renovate and/or replace the sanitation system. We have had extensive discussions with CDPHE and last year filed initial renovation plans for their review. We have installed automated metering equipment to better measure sewage flows into the treatment system. We have undertaken an intensive plan of testing of the waste water at all points of the treatment system to better understand its operation and the requirements for a new system.
Based on this information we plan to submit a Preliminary Engineering Report – essentially a proposal for renovation – to the CDPHE this fall. That will be followed by applications for grants and loans to fund the project, applications we expect to file in the winter of 2014-5. Final approval of the plans and awarding of funds is expected by the end of summer of 2015, allowing construction to be undertaken in the summer of 2016. It is our intent to complete this project by the end of 2016, giving the District a new, state of the art, sanitation system.
excerpt from April 14, 2014 letter to District Members and Residents, read full letter here