Woodmoor Water and Sanitation District, July 14 – 2025 budget gets midyear tune up

Minor changes to 2025 budget
Alternative found to lift station rehab
Operational reports
Executive session

By James Howald

At the July board meeting, District Manager Jessie Shaffer discussed midyear adjustments to the Woodmoor Water and Sanitation District’s (WWSD) 2025 budget. Richard Hood, a project manager with JVA Consulting Engineers, Inc., proposed a less costly approach to a project to update a lift station on Lost Arrowhead Drive. The board heard operational reports, and the meeting ended with an executive session.

Minor changes to 2025 budget

Shaffer told the board that the amount budgeted for construction of facilities was reduced from $3.8 million to $2.6 million due in part to a decision to forgo drilling a new Dawson aquifer well and instead to improve Well 13, which was never fully brought into production. Shaffer said the drilling company damaged the well’s screen, the portion of the well casing that allows water to enter the well, when the well was first drilled. Well 13 was never formally abandoned, however, and in its current state it can produce 30 gallons per minute for less than it would cost to drill a new well. Shaffer said the cost of a new well that was drilled at the Central Water Treatment Plant site was $200,000 less than budgeted.

Shaffer said the renewal and replacement schedule for 2025 included $600,000 for saddle replacements but that amount needed to be increased to $675,000. There were fewer pump failures than expected and that line item was reduced from $325,000 to $260,000. The money budgeted for providing backup power for a lift station needed to be increased from $557,000 to $670,000.

Shaffer determined it was cheaper to buy a used tractor for use at the Woodmoor Ranch than it was to rent one, so $20,000 was moved from the equipment rental line item to the vehicle purchase line item.

Money allocated to professional fees increased because cash flow modeling for the Loop water reuse project was added to the district’s task list.

Shaffer said the 2025 budget anticipated 112 new homes; that number was adjusted down to 70, reducing the revenue expected from water and sewer tap fees.

Alternative found to lift station rehab

Shaffer told the board that bids to update the aging equipment at the Lost Arrowhead lift station came in much higher than expected, prompting the district to consider alternative ways to support the 150 customers who rely on the station. Hood said the bids for that project ranged from $834,000 to $1.15 million.

Hood developed three alternative routes for the wastewater handled by the lift station, all three of which relied on gravity rather than electric pumps and allowed for the elimination of the lift station altogether. Lidar, a laser imaging technology, and a traditional survey showed that one of the three options was best. The preferred option requires an 8-inch pipeline to be drilled using an easement between two houses that would use gravity to convey wastewater from the lift station to an existing lift station on Greenland Forest Rd. Hood estimated the cost of that option to be $645,000.

In response to a question from Board President Brian Bush, Hood said he recommended mothballing the Lost Arrowhead lift station. Shaffer suggested pulling the pumps and electronics and filling it with sand.

Hood said that, in addition to saving operating costs by eliminating a lift station, the proposed solution would solve an existing capacity problem; the Lost Arrowhead lift station is overfilling manholes when operating at peak capacity. That problem would be solved by rerouting the pipeline, according to Hood.

Operations Superintendent Dan LaFontaine pointed out that the Lost Arrowhead lift station was built before the Greenland Preserve subdivision was built.

Board Treasurer Dana Franzen said the proposal would save $200,000 up front and there would be additional savings on operating costs.

The board authorized Shaffer to pursue the solution as proposed by Hood.

Operational reports

In his financial report, Franzen said the district was “on track for almost all revenue items.” The board voted unanimously to accept the report.

In his manager’s report, Shaffer updated the board on the state of the Loop water reuse project. WWSD is one of three districts participating in that effort. He said he expected Burns & McDonnell to have its design for the Loop’s water treatment plant to 30% completion by Halloween and its design for the lift stations and pipeline to 30% completion by Thanksgiving. A Request for Proposal for a plan to enlarge Calhan Reservoir had been published and Shaffer said he expected that design to be 30% complete by the end of the year. Once these plans and designs are 30% complete, a more accurate Opinion of Probable Cost for the entire project will be possible, Shaffer said.

Shaffer also mentioned that the district was considering moving to a different vendor for online billing if Xpress Bill Pay can’t quickly resolve a billing problem reported at the last board meeting. He said office staff manually corrected the billing problem when it occurred so that it doesn’t impact customers.

In his water report, LaFontaine updated the board on his ongoing work to lower the district’s unaccounted for water. Repairing two leaks his team located last month did not reduce the unaccounted-for water as much as he had hoped, LaFontaine said. The district is replacing older saddles, which connect service lines to mainlines, and most of the saddles replaced are found to be leaking, which suggests the water loss may be due to many small leaks rather than a few larger leaks. The rainy weather has kept Lake Woodmoor fuller than expected, he said.

In her report, District Engineer Cydney Saelens noted that Well 12R, being drilled in the Woodmoor Preserve, was nearing completion. She said the well was “fully developed,’ that is, the silt and sand from drilling had been removed using compressed air or water. The sound walls should be removed by July 23, she said.

Executive session

The meeting ended with an executive session to get legal advice on negotiating positions regarding potential agreements with the Mines Shopping Center, Buffs Wash, the Loop Water Authority, Monument Fire District, Classic Homes, and CSI Construction Co.

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The next meeting is on Aug. 11 at 1:00 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.

Minor changes to 2025 budget

Alternative found to lift station rehab

Operational reports

Executive session

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