- Pine tree roots the culprit in sewage overflow
- County encourages Buc-ee’s to plan Beacon Lite Road work
- SCADA issues resolved
By Jackie Burhans and James Howald
In May, the Monument Sanitation District (MSD) board met briefly to hear an operational report from District Manager Mark Parker. Parker updated the board on a sewage release by Raspberry Point Townhomes in May that threatened to contaminate Monument Lake. Parker reported on a letter he had received from Buc-ee’s and on the resolution of an issue with the district’s supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) software.
Pine tree roots the culprit in sewage overflow
Parker told the board that a video inspection of the service line owned by the Raspberry Point Townhomes that failed on May 14, leading to a sewage spill, showed the line had been blocked by 3 feet of tree roots. An 8-inch cleanout was added to the line and no further problems have occurred, Parker said. He noted a previous repair that was “pretty shoddy at best.”
Immediately following the spill in May, the ownership of the service line was under discussion. The Raspberry Point Townhome Homeowner’s Association (HOA) believed the service belonged to MSD but was unable to produce any documentation to support that belief. MSD had no records showing the district had agreed to be responsible for the line and related manhole. Parker said he was waiting to receive invoices for the work done to repair the line and the manhole before presenting them to the HOA for payment.
County encourages Buc-ee’s to plan Beacon Lite Road work
Parker said he had received a letter from Buc-ee’s regarding work that will need to be done on Beacon Lite Road if its proposed travel center goes forward. The letter said El Paso County, which is planning grading and straightening improvements to Beacon Lite that are independent of the proposed travel center, is pushing Buc-ee’s to get the approvals required for its sewage to be conveyed to MSD’s collection system. Parker said Buc-ee’s would need to plan for both lift stations and gravity flow to handle their sewage. The county’s plans can’t proceed until Buc-ee’s design is approved. Parker said Buc-ee’s letter had been sent to GMS Inc., the district’s consulting engineers.
SCADA issues resolved
Parker said changes to the algorithms used by cellular service providers, that misidentified SCADA alarms as spam, had temporarily interrupted the district’s SCADA system, which operates portions of the district’s infrastructure. The problem was fixed, and the SCADA software is again able send alarms by email and text.
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Monument Sanitation District meetings are held at 9 a.m. on the third Wednesday of the month in the district conference room at 130 Second St., Monument. The next regular meeting is scheduled for July 16. See https://MonumentSanitationDistrict.org. For a district service map, see https://MonumentSanitationDistrict.org/district-map. Information: 719-481-4886.
Jackie Burhans can be reached at jackieburhans@ocn.me. James Howald can be reached at jameshowald@ocn.me.
Other Monument Sanitation District articles
- Monument Sanitation District, Jan. 21 – Buc-ee’s advances sewer plan (2/4/2026)
- Monument Sanitation District, Dec. 17 – 2026 budget approved; compensation debated (12/31/2025)
- Monument Sanitation District, Nov. 19 – Draft of 2026 budget reviewed (12/4/2025)
- Monument Sanitation District, Oct. 15 – Draft of 2026 budget reviewed (10/30/2025)
- Monument Sanitation District, Sept. 17 – Beacon Lite Road due for upgrades (10/2/2025)
- Monument Sanitation District, Aug. 20 – Parker explains Buc-ee’s wastewater estimate (9/4/2025)
- Monument Sanitation District, July 16 – Buc-ee’s potential impact studied (8/1/2025)
- Monument Sanitation District, May 21 – Manhole overflow threatens Monument Lake (6/7/2025)
- Monument Sanitation District, April 16 – District plans for Buc-ee’s impact (5/3/2025)
- Monument Sanitation District, Mar. 19 –Upcoming election canceled (4/5/2025)
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