Woodmoor Water and Sanitation District, April 28, May 6 and 12 – Board awards well drilling contract, elects officers

Board chooses enhanced design for well
Two board members sworn in; officers elected
Board grants CSU access
Operational reports
Executive session

By James Howald

At a special board meeting on April 28, the Woodmoor Water and Sanitation District (WWSD) board approved a design for well 12R and awarded a drilling contract to Hydro Resources. The board held a second special meeting on May 6 to swear in two board members and elect board officers. At its regular board meeting on May 12, the board considered a license agreement with Colorado Springs Utilities (CSU) to allow CSU to access one of its pump stations via land owned by WWSD. The board also heard operational reports. The meeting ended with an executive session.

Board chooses enhanced design for well

Rachael Frei, a project engineer with Bishop-Brogden Associates Inc., gave the board an overview of the project to drill a new well in the southwest corner of the South Woodmoor Preserve, adjacent to a cul-de-sac between two residential properties. Well 12R would replace well 12, which was constructed in 1990 and which suffered a loss of structure in 2022. Well 12 exceeded its projected 30-year life by two years, Frei said. It will be converted to a monitoring well.

Frei said well 12R will be drilled at one of the best locations in the district, where the Arapahoe aquifer is most productive, and is projected to provide about 200 gallons per minute, about 12% of the district’s annual well production. The location will reduce costs because it will minimize the length of the transmission line needed to convey the well’s water for treatment.

Frei said well 12R should be in production by 2027 and was projected to cost about $1.9 million. Some equipment that was purchased for well 12 in 2024 could be reused in well 12R, she said.

Frei presented two designs for the board to consider: a traditional municipal well design using a 40-slot stainless steel screen with silica sand gravel pack, and an enhanced municipal design using a 50-slot screen with glass bead gravel pack. Screens are the portion of the well casing that allow groundwater to enter the well and are designed to prevent sand from damaging pumps and to minimize energy consumption.

Glass beads increase well efficiency and yield, speed up well development, reduce mineral and biological fouling and mechanical plugging, and do not compact as the well ages. Glass beads are about 6% more expensive than silica sand and come from China or Germany, Frei said, and their availability and cost could be affected by tariffs. The enhanced design would cost about $600,000 more than the traditional design, according to Frei. She recommended the enhanced design, and the board voted to approve that choice.

Hydro Resources, KP Ventures, and Layne Christensen submitted bids to drill well 12R, Frei said. Hydro Resources submitted the low bid at $1.17 million for the enhanced design. Layne Christensen’s bid was $2.3 million and KP Ventures bid was $1.26 million. Frei recommended the board award the contract to Hydro Resources, which the board did with a unanimous vote.

Two board members sworn in; officers elected

At the May 6 meeting, Tom Roddam and Dana Franzen took their oaths of office. Roddam is serving his second term; Franzen is new to the board, replacing Director Dan Beley. Bill Clewe and Brian Bush were sworn in before the May 6 meeting.

Board Treasurer Roy Martinez nominated Bush for another term as president, arguing that the district was at a critical point in its history and needed a president who would provide continuity and “could hit the ground running.” The board voted unanimously to re-elect Bush as president.

Martinez nominated Franzen to replace him as treasurer due to Franzen’s background as an accountant, and the board elected Franzen to that role.

Clewe was excused from the meeting but had previously indicated his willingness to continue as secretary. The board voted to keep him in that position. Clewe was also elected to serve as the board liaison with the Joint Use Committee, which oversees the operations of the Tri-Lakes Waste Water Treatment Facility, which WWSD shares with the Towns of Monument and Palmer Lake.

Roddam and District Manager Jessie Shaffer were elected to continue as WWSD’s representatives on the Chilcott Ditch Co. board.

Board grants CSU access

Shaffer asked the board to consider executing a license agreement with CSU that would allow CSU to access its Williams Creek Pump Station through a portion of the Woodmoor Ranch, which is southeast of the Town of Fountain. CSU sought access so its staff could make operational adjustments and perform maintenance at the pump station without a more lengthy drive to the station on Highway 94. The agreement does not permit use of WWSD land by construction equipment or by CSU subcontractors without written permission from WWSD, Shaffer said. The board voted unanimously to provide the access requested.

Operational reports

In his first financial report, Franzen commented on the strength of the district’s balance sheet. He noted a $170,000 charge for insurance, which Office Manager Cory Lynch explained was paid upfront and amortized through the year. The board approved Franzen’s report.

Reporting on the Woodmoor Ranch, Shaffer said 2025 was the last year the district would be re-establishing native grasses as required by the conversion of the water rights at the ranch from agricultural to municipal uses. In 2026 and 2027 the district would switch to maintenance issues such as weed control and mowing. Shaffer said the district employees who have been working at the ranch might transition to new jobs maintaining water and sewer pipelines and providing backup for other employees.

In his Manager’s Report, Shaffer gave the board an update on the Loop, a water reuse project in which WWSD is one of three participating districts. Contracts to design and pilot test the Loop’s water treatment plant, and to engineer the project’s pipelines and pump stations, have been awarded, he said. Merrick and Co. is working on a request for proposal (RFP) to do a feasibility study of reservoir expansion. That RFP should be published by the end of May and a contract awarded in June, according to Shaffer.

Shaffer also mentioned that the Loop was discussing financing methods with several companies that specialize in public-private partnerships, which are collaborations in which the private partner finances, plans and executes projects needed by governmental entities such as water and sanitation districts.

Operations Superintendent Dan LaFontaine told the board that the meter for well 22 had been replaced and two leaks had been identified, one on White Fawn Drive and one on Higby Road, which would require traffic control plans to be drawn up before repairs could begin. LaFontaine also commended Woodmoor Public Safety officers for reporting an unpermitted contractor who was using water from a district hydrant without permission.

Executive session

The May 12 meeting ended with an executive session to determine negotiating positions and receive legal advice about potential agreements with Lewis Palmer School District 38.

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The next meeting is on June 9 at 1 p.m. Meetings are usually held on the second Monday of each month at 1 p.m. at the district office at 1845 Woodmoor Drive. Please see www.woodmoorwater.com or call 719-488-2525 to verify meeting times and locations.

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

Board chooses enhanced design for well

Two board members sworn in; officers elected

Board grants CSU access

Operational reports

Executive session

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