Monument Sanitation District, Aug. 20 – Parker explains Buc-ee’s wastewater estimate

By Jackie Burhans and James Howald

At its August meeting, the Monument Sanitation District (MSD) board heard an operational report from District Manager Mark Parker that clarified his previous remarks concerning the impact wastewater from the proposed Buc-ee’s travel center would have on the district.

Buc-ee’s wastewater compared to residential estimate

At the previous board meeting, Parker told the board that the proposed Buc-ee’s travel center was expected to produce about 27,000 gallons of wastewater daily, which would be “a lot less” than the amount generated by the residential development project, named Monument Ridge West, that had been proposed for the site but was abandoned in favor of the travel center. Parker said discussion of the travel center on social media prompted him to provide some detail regarding the calculation that led to his previous remarks.

Parker explained MSD uses the industry standard method to estimate the amount of wastewater a residential development will generate. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) requires all residential development plans to assume each person will generate 75 gallons of wastewater per day. CDPHE also assumes, for planning purposes, each home will have 2.54 residents. Those two assumptions lead to an estimate of 190.5 gallons of wastewater per day from each residence.

Parker said the Monument Ridge West proposal would have built a total of 355 residences: 300 apartments, 30 mixed family units, and 25 single-family homes. Using the estimate of 190.5 gallons of wastewater per day, those residences would have generated just over 67,000 gallons of wastewater daily, Parker said. Based on usage data from existing Buc-ee’s travel centers, the proposed travel center will generate about 27,000 gallons of wastewater daily

Parker emphasized that MSD does not pay any of the costs for new development. Buc-ee’s paid for the engineering study of MSD’s wastewater collection system that was done recently by GMS Engineering Inc., the company MSD selected to do the study, and which it has used many times in the past.

Parker also said that, should the travel center plan go forward, Buc-ee’s would have to pay for a lift station to be built, which Buc-ee’s would operate. The lift station would have to be built to MSD’s standard, he said. In most cases, Parker explained, developers pay for the construction of lift stations, and MSD takes ownership of them when they are complete. In the case of the travel center, the lift station would be owned, operated, and maintained by Buc-ee’s.

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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 Sept. 17. 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.

Buc-ee’s wastewater compared to residential estimate

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