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OCN > 2501 > Donala Water and Sanitation District, Nov. 21 – State signs off on radium remediation

Donala Water and Sanitation District, Nov. 21 – State signs off on radium remediation

By James Howald and Jackie Burhans

At its December meeting, the Donala Water and Sanitation District’s (DWSD) board heard good news concerning its efforts to remove radium from the water the district delivers to customers. The board concluded its work on its 2025 budget, certified its mill levies, and planned two upcoming elections. The board decided to abandon Well 11D and redrill Well 7D in its place. Finally, the board heard financial and operational reports.

State confirms compliance with radium standard

Water Operator Ronny Wright told the board he had received a “radiological reinforcement order” from the state, a confirmation that DWSD has met the state’s standards for radium over four consecutive quarters. The order states that DWSD’s system was “reliably and consistently achieving compliance within the combined standards” for radium. Wright said the district would receive a new schedule for ongoing sampling from the state.

On June 28, 2022, DWSD was notified that water processed at the Holbein Treatment Plant had, for the past year, an average value of combined radium of 9.6 pCi/L, exceeding the maximum contaminant level of 5 pCi/L. In response, the district notified its customers as required, took the treatment plant offline, upgraded the filtration medium at the plant and installed a radium removal process based on hydrous manganese oxide. The board estimated it would have the problem solved by November 2023, and the order confirms that the water delivered in 2024 met the state’s standards.

2025 budget adopted; mill levies set

Board President Wayne Vanderschuere opened a public hearing on the 2025 budget. He noted that rates and fees, which typically are set when a new budget is approved, would be set in the first quarter of 2025 when the district has data for water consumption during the winter months, which it uses to calculate wastewater costs, and has had time to complete a cost of service study.

There were no comments on the budget and Vanderschuere closed the hearing. The board passed four resolutions:

  • Resolution 2024-9, which adopts the 2025 budget.
  • Resolution 2024-10, which appropriates the funds needed for the budget.
  • Resolution 2024-11, which sets a mill levy of 21.296 mills for most of the district.
  • Resolution 2024-12, which sets a mill levy of 10.648 mills for a small portion of the district that receives water service but uses septic tanks instead of the district’s sewer service.

Upcoming elections

The board planned for two upcoming elections. The first, a special election to be held on Feb. 4, will ask voters to waive the term limits that are currently in place for members of the DWSD board. The board put this issue to the voters because of the difficulty of finding candidates for the DWSD board and in hopes of improving the long-term decision-making of the board by allowing members to serve for a longer time.

Accounts Payable Specialist Christina Hawker gave the board a timeline for the February election. She said printed ballots would be available by Jan. 3. The election will be held between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. at the district offices at 15850 Holbein Drive. Hawker will serve as the Designated Election Official (DEO). Absentee ballots would be mailed out on Jan. 6 to those who requested them. An application for an absentee ballot is on the district web page, she said. Jan. 28 is the last day to request an absentee ballot. Hawker said details about the election would be included with the bills sent to customers.

Micki Mills, of the legal firm Cockrel Ela Glesne Geher and Ruhland, attended the meeting to advise the board about the election. She said the district is subject to the fair campaign practices act, so the information included in bills must be strictly factual and can’t advocate for or against the issue before the voters. She advised board members to forward any questions they receive to Hawker.

The board also planned a district election to be held on May 6, 2025. That election will elect board members to fill the seats currently held by Vanderschuere and Director Ed Miller. If term limits are waived in February, then Vanderschuere and Miller may run again for the seats they currently hold. If they are not waived, Vanderschuere and Miller will not be eligible for re-election.

Anyone wishing to run for one of the two available board seats can obtain a self-nomination form by emailing Hawker at ChristinaH@donalawater.gov. The completed forms must be received no later than close of business on Feb. 28.

The board voted in favor of Resolution 2024-8, which documents the date and time of the election and names Hawker as DEO.

Well 7D to replace 11D

At its November meeting, the board heard a recommendation from consultant Helen Malenda-Lawrence, of LRE Water, to repair Well 11D. District Manager Hodge told the board that following a video inspection of the well it was determined that the well could not be repaired with the installation of a new pump, as was originally estimated, and he recommended abandoning the well.

Hodge proposed redrilling well 7D, which failed in 2020. Well 7D is located in the parking lot of the district’s office building and treatment plant on Holbein Drive. Because Well 7D could be redrilled within 200 feet of its existing location, there would be no need to go to water court and that would simplify the permitting required, Hodge said. Another advantage is the well could provide water to the treatment plant without using the pipeline adjacent to Baptist Road, which is subject to failures due to its installation directly on rock.

Financial and operational reports

In his financial report, District Manager Jeff Hodge reported that revenues and expenses for the last month of 2024 were on track. Savings on water rights balanced additional expenses for staff training.

In his manager’s report, Hodge said the state had called to schedule a sanitary survey of the district. A sanitary survey is an on-site survey that looks at water sources, facilities, equipment, operations, and maintenance of public water systems to evaluate the adequacy of the systems to provide safe drinking water.

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The next board meeting is scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 16 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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