| |
|
Sunday, August 3, 2008
|
|
Pueblo: Wastewater sludge for compost?
Here's a report on efforts to recycle wastewater sludge in Pueblo, from The Pueblo Chieftain. From the article:
Every year the city of Pueblo ships about 4,000 tons of sludge from its wastewater treatment plant to the dump. It's the only place the stuff can go, but the city, along with the Gaia Institute's Happy Worm Herders program, is hoping that a pilot program currently under way will change that. "If everything works out well, it could reduce the biosolids we have to dump by 80 percent," said City Wastewater Director Gene Michael.
Michael said the sludge is already "high quality," but it can't be used for any purpose because of its high concentrations of selenium. The city and the institute hope composting the sludge with other organic waste will reduce the selenium to acceptable levels and create a marketable fertilizer that the institute could sell to raise funds. "The city is not interested in getting into the composting business," said Public Work Director Dan Centa. But the process, called vermacomposting, is tantalizing because it wouldn't just be sludge that the city would avoid hauling to the dump, he said. The compost will require a combination of six parts other organic waste to one part biosolids left over from the water treatment process. The other organic waste can include grass clippings, tree limbs, shredded paper and possibly organics picked up by the city's street sweepers. Worms are added to the combination, which then feed and turn the soil. The hope is that the result will be a usable fertilizer.
"colorado water"
8:35:32 AM 
|
|
Teachers get water quality assessment training
From The Longmont Daily Times-Call: "Teachers from St. Vrain Valley and Boulder Valley school districts took a rapid-fire course in water quality assessment Tuesday and Wednesday at Izaak Walton Park. Educators from an advocacy organization called Keep It Clean instructed about 20 teachers in local water issues and armed them with activities to take back to their classrooms. Water conservation, water quality assessment and pollution awareness topped the agenda. Standing by the edge of the St. Vrain River, watershed education specialist Lisa Dierauf stressed that all water and chemicals that wash into storm drains go straight into creeks. 'That's one of the biggest messages we want to get out,' she said. One gallon of oil dumped into a creek spoils 1 million gallons of water, or enough water for 50 people for a year, educator Steve Noud said."
"colorado water"
8:16:14 AM
|
|
Castle Rock inks deal for Rueter-Hess storage
Castle Rock's largest expenditure in history is its shiny new storage contract with Parker for space in Rueter-Hess Reservoir (currently under construction) reports The Douglas County News-Press. From the article:
Town council July 15 approved the agreement with the Town of Parker to lease storage space in the Rueter-Hess reservoir for a price tag of $44 million. The move paves the way for the town to meet its goal of reducing its reliance on nonrenewable groundwater. "This is an exciting moment," said town attorney Robert Slentz. "This is the first real tangible step forward on our renewable water program."
The town embarked on its ambitious renewable water program in 2006 with the adoption of the water resource strategic master plan. The plan calls for Castle Rock to eventually supply 75 percent of its water to residents from renewable sources, said Ron Redd, Castle Rock utilities director. Castle Rock now relies on nonrenewable groundwater for 100 percent of its water supply, Redd said.
The Rueter-Hess project provides Castle Rock with the ability to store 8,000-acre feet of water out of the reservoir's 72,000-acre feet capacity. Construction on Rueter-Hess began in 2004 and is expected to be completed by 2009, according to the online timeline provided by the Parker Water and Sanitation District. The total cost of construction of the reservoir is expected to be about $100 million, Redd said, and Castle Rock's investment secures the necessary expansion to eventually serve half of the town's customers anticipated by the year 2032.
The next steps in the Rueter-Hess project for Castle Rock will be to purchase adequate water rights to fill its portion of the reservoir and build the underground pipelines necessary to deliver the water to town customers. The town partnered with the South Metro Water Authority to negotiate purchase of the water rights and invest in the infrastructure, Redd said. The cost for miles of pipeline necessary to move water from the existing owners as far as Weld County exceeds the financial capabilities of one municipality, he said. The 20-year project is expected to cost Castle Rock about $500 million, Redd said. Just to secure the water rights sufficient to fill its portion of Rueter-Hess, Castle Rock could spend as much as $180 million, he said. "There is no way we could do this on our own," Redd said.
The town entered into the Rueter-Hess debt without voter approval by issuing $75 million in certificates of participation by the Castle Rock Water Resources Leasing Trust. The issuance cost of the certificates is $1.7 million for payment of letter of credit fees, underwriter discount, legal fees and other customary charges associated with the issuance, said Angela Copeland, Castle Rock community relations manager. The debt is expected to be paid off by the renewable water resources fee and the renewable water resource system development fee in the next 30 years, Copeland said. In addition to the cost of storage space in the reservoir, Castle Rock will absorb nearly $1 million in expenses to build a larger pipeline from the outlet tower.
Rueter-Hess is a single piece of a renewable water puzzle that includes plans to recycle Castle Rock's effluent through the Centennial Water and Sanitation District. Castle Rock now sells its effluent, or return flows, to outside purchasers. Completion of a pipeline between Castle Rock and Centennial, coupled with an agreement to treat the return flows for delivery to town residents, translates into recapturing 3 million gallons of water per day for Castle Rock, Redd said. The price tag to complete the return flow project is between $16 million and $20 million, with a targeted completion date of 2010, he said. At a time when water rights can cost as much as $25,000 per acre foot, a reduction in water consumption is pivotal to reducing the cost of the overall plan. The town in 2005 set a 25-year goal to reduce its community consumption by 18 percent. If the town meets its goal, the savings could be as much as $80 million in renewable water the town will not have to purchase, Redd said. Castle Rock is well on its way to its stated goal, with average consumption down in just three years by nearly 9 percent, Redd said.
More Coyote Gulch coverage here and here.
"colorado water"
8:06:35 AM
|
|
Pueblo: Water conservation
Here's a report on conservation efforts in Pueblo, from The Pueblo Chieftain. From the article:
The water board is developing a 100-year water planning window and water-use habits figure into the equations, [Alan] Hamel said. Although Pueblo has added more than 3,100 accounts since 1996, total consumption has fallen. Per-capita residential consumption has decreased more than 11 percent during that time to 127 gallons per day from 147 gallons per day. All water use - which includes residential, commercial and water provided for parks or fire hydrants - dropped to 207 gallons per person from 266 gallons per person a decade ago. The decline in consumption began following 2002, when the water board used mandatory restrictions midway through summer as water levels dropped across the state...
Despite a string of hot, dry days, Pueblo water use has topped 50 million gallons only three days so far this year. Prior to 2002, and even in the first two years after the drought, there were frequent stretches of 50 million gallon days. "Irrigation is two-thirds of our water use, so if you can cut that by 60 percent, it makes a big difference," [Seth Clayton, finance manager for the water board] said. The report studies the trends among 712 customers chosen from a random group of 1,500 who had lived at the same address without changes to their water lines during the 12-year study period. That pool was chosen to filter out the effects of change of ownership or tenancy. The results were even more dramatic, showing a 16 percent drop in water use per account within the group, compared with an 11 percent drop per account citywide...
Use dropped consistently in both groups during both the irrigation and non-irrigation seasons, when comparing post-drought habits to the years before the drought. Residential consumption, about 54 percent of total water use in Pueblo, reached an all-time high of more than 5 billion gallons in 2000, but dropped to around 4.5 billion gallons or less in equally dry years of 2004-06...
The water board surveyed 100 customers from the study group to find specific motivation to conserve water. Among the results: 77 percent confirmed they were influenced by the media conservation push during the drought; 63 percent had sprinkler systems and the overwhelming majority were watering only two to three times weekly, as recommended; 73 percent of customers had not installed water-saving appliances, while 60 percent had not changed landscaping...
Unlike many other Front Range cities, Pueblo has not gone to block pricing structures, permanent mandatory restrictions or appliance replacement programs, partly because the city still has an ample supply from its water rights. Pueblo rates remain among the lowest among comparable cities in the state.
The water board provides treated water at no cost for city parks irrigation, but does not use raw water for that purpose. The city uses some Bessemer Ditch water to irrigate Elmwood Golf Course, but the water rights are held by the city of Pueblo, not the water board. The water board rejected outdoor irrigation plans with raw water at Walkingstick Golf Course because of water quality issues and at the Airport Industrial Park because of delivery issues. The water board does lease raw water to Aurora, the Comanche power plants and others. The city of Pueblo operates the sewer plant, but wastewater billing is part of the water bill customers receive each month. So is stormwater. The recent increase in sewer fees could spur more conservation, since the amount of water used is the only way customers can reduce the overall bill. Sewer fees are set during a two-month period between December and February, based on metered use. Many Pueblo customers are savvy enough to keep use during that period at a minimum by avoiding any outdoor watering, Hamel said...
Unlike some other Front Range cities, Pueblo is not in a position to reuse its treated effluent, even if it chose to do so, explained Alan Ward, water resources specialist. Return flows from transmountain water, fully consumable native flows or designated groundwater basins may be reused in some cases. Pueblo currently gets most of its water from direct flow water rights, but eventually about 60 percent of its water supply would come from the Western Slope. "We haven't used any transmountain water (in the city's metered system) this year," Ward said. "Right now there's very little effluent that is reusable, but that could change in the future."
"colorado water"
7:52:39 AM
|
|
Grass for driveways?
Here's a cool idea for a pervious driveway system -- grass -- as reported by The Canadian Press. From the article:
It's the latest thing in high-tech driveways, replacing that ugly black asphalt with an environmentally-friendly substitute that filters out impurities and keeps salt, sealants and other noxious chemicals out of municipal sewer systems. Just be sure to keep it watered, weeded and mowed. That's right, the solution to paved driveways - which serve to funnel all manner of toxins directly into the environment - just might be the grass right next to it...
Not even heavy trucks and SUVs - environmentally friendly hybrids only, please - will rip up or flatten the grass, thanks to a plastic support grid that sits just below the surface and absorbs the pressure of vehicles. It's a technology that's been around for several years, but most installations in Canada have been in business settings and very few homeowners even realize it's an option. Now, with Canadians more concerned than ever about the environment, Marshall figures its time has come.
Grass driveways help to protect the environment by absorbing and reducing runoff going into the sewers, Marshall said, preventing things like driveway sealants, oil, salt, and car care products from going down the drain. "It's all about water infiltration into the ground instead of running out onto the street and down into our sewers and into our lakes and rivers," he said...
Marshall said the only major unknown about the grass driveway is how it will survive a cold, snowy winter, so he's not yet making it an option in his new homes until it can be fully tested...
Rick Cavallero of Invisible Surfaces, a company based out of Colorado that sells similar grass driveway technology, said snow isn't a problem for the surface, although constant traffic is. He recommends that customers not go in and out of the same spot more than four or five times a day if they want their grass to last. "It's not for every day, in and out constantly, because you're going to wear out the turf," Cavallero said. But you shouldn't leave a vehicle parked on the grass for days on end either, he added...
The cost of a grass driveway is estimated to be about $10 a square foot, which is a little less than an interlock driveway but about five times the cost of a standard driveway, Marshall said.
"colorado water"
7:37:21 AM
|
|
|
© Copyright 2009 John Orr.
Last update: 3/14/09; 10:25:53 PM.
|
|
|
