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OCN > 2408 > Donala Water and Sanitation District, July 18 – Board considers request to exclude property

Donala Water and Sanitation District, July 18 – Board considers request to exclude property

By James Howald and Jackie Burhans

The July meeting of the Donala Water and Sanitation District (DWSD) board was preceded by a workshop and tour of the Upper Monument Creek Regional Wastewater Treatment Facility (UMCRWWTF), which the district operates jointly with the Academy Water and Sanitation District, the Forest Lakes Metropolitan District, and the Triview Metropolitan District. The board held a public hearing on a request to exclude a property from the DWSD service area. During public comments, a resident questioned a large bill he received for water service. The board heard operational reports, and the meeting ended with an executive session.

Treatment facility tour

During the board’s tour of its wastewater treatment facility at 14770 Jumping Mouse View, it inspected recently completed repairs to one of the facility’s three sequential batch reactors. The board also saw the sludge removal process and the flume through which treated effluent is discharged into Monument Creek. The facility staff also demonstrated a newly acquired truck mounted valve operator, made by Wachs Utility Products, that will help the district maintain its underground valves.

Public hearing on property exclusion

A public hearing was held on a request from Bill and Vickie Hancock to remove a portion of their property at 15220 Leather Chaps Drive from the district’s service area. General Manager Jeff Hodge explained that the Hancocks wanted to subdivide their 5-acre lot into two 2.5-acre lots, one of which would use an existing well and therefore would not need water service from DWSD. Board President Wayne Vanderschuere pointed out that should the Hancocks ever want to rejoin the district, they would have to pay a tap fee.

The board briefly considered Resolution 2024-6, which would grant the exclusion, but DWSD Attorney Madison Phillips pointed out that the board had not received a signed petition from the Hancocks, one of whom was in the hospital. The board took no action on the resolution and kept the hearing open until the required petition was received.

Resident questions big bill

Resident George Urteaga used the public comment portion of the meeting to tell the board that he had received a bill for 60,000 gallons of water, which he believed was incorrect. He said he had hired two companies to check for leaks in his irrigation system and they found none. He said the excessive usage occurred over a period of three days and he did not believe that amount of water could be delivered in that time. Hodge told him that, based on the size of his tap and the water pressure in his neighborhood, 60,000 gallons of water could have been delivered over the course of three days. Hodge offered to have Urteaga’s water meter checked for accuracy.

Operational reports

In his financial report, Hodge said water sales in the first six months of 2024 were in line with the budget. Revenue from property taxes was trickling in. He said the district had delivered a little of the water from its Willow Creek Ranch property that it pays Colorado Springs Utilities to convey, treat and deliver, but the costs of doing so were offset by the revenue the district received from leasing water to the Arkansas Groundwater and Reservoir Association.

The board voted unanimously to approve the financial report.

Water Operator Joe Lopez told the board that El Paso County had, in response to high temperatures, unexpectedly purchased about 37,000 gallons of water from the district, lowering the levels in the district’s storage tanks. Vanderschuere said the district should insist on advance notice of such purchases in the future.

On the wastewater side, Chief Waste Plant Operator Aaron Tolman reported E. coli numbers were well within the allowable level. The treatment facility processed 28 million gallons of waste in the previous month.

Brett Gracely, a project engineer with LRE Water, told the board that plans for aquifer storage and retrieval (ASR), a technology that will store excess water underground to avoid loss due to evaporation, were proceeding and the hardware needed for ASR was being designed.

Roger Sams, of GMS Engineering Inc., told the board that repairs to the district’s storage tanks were almost complete.

Executive session

The meeting ended with an executive session to discuss the Member Agency Financing and Contribution Agreement recently drafted by the Loop water reuse project. DWSD is one of three water districts that have committed to the Loop.

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The next board meeting is scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 15 at 1:30 p.m. Generally, board meetings are held the third Thursday of the month at 1:30 p.m. and include online access; call (719) 488-3603 or access www.donalawater.org to receive up-to-date meeting information. The district office is located at 15850 Holbein Drive, Colorado Springs.

James Howald can be reached at jameshowald@ocn.me.

Jackie Burhans can be reached at jackieburhans@ocn.me

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