The Town of Estes Park violated federal drinking water standards this past year, for not testing for TOC’s (total organic carbon) in May from the Mary’s Lake water treatment plant. Results of regular monitoring are an indicator of whether or not our drinking water meets health standards. During 2007 we (the Town of Estes Park) did not complete all required TOC testing, and therefore cannot be sure of the quality of our drinking water during that time.
Please share this information with other people who drink this water, especially those who may not have received this notice directly (for example; people in nursing homes, apartments, and schools). You can do this by posting this notice in a public place, or distributing by hand or mail. (We quote directly from the mailer).
We choose to blog it, thank you.
The Town of Estes Park is required by law to post this notice, which they did in the form of a mailer titled Annual Water Quality Report Testing performed in 2007, Town of Estes Park Water Department. One year after the violation!
It did so in a very positive manner.
In the April 8th 2008, town board meeting, Town of Estes Park Administrator Halburnt commented about the source of the water contamination in Alamosa recently was their storage tank and/or cross connections. Alamosa does not use chlorine to disinfect their water (not a fact) however…the Town of Estes Park does use chlorine (which has its own chemistry issues). The Estes Park Water Department has stated, an outbreak similar to Alamosa would be unlikely in Estes Park (also not a fact).
Does that mean, because we chlorinate…our chances of being contaminated like Alamosa are reduced?
Not hardly…cross connections are mechanical problems, often the result of do-it-yourself midnight plumbers and a lack of a competent inspection programs in small unprofessionally operated communities prone to ignoring the law.
Please share this information with other people who drink this water, especially those who may not have received this notice directly (for example; people in nursing homes, apartments, and schools). You can do this by posting this notice in a public place, or distributing by hand or mail. (We quote directly from the mailer).
We choose to blog it, thank you.
The Town of Estes Park is required by law to post this notice, which they did in the form of a mailer titled Annual Water Quality Report Testing performed in 2007, Town of Estes Park Water Department. One year after the violation!
It did so in a very positive manner.
In the April 8th 2008, town board meeting, Town of Estes Park Administrator Halburnt commented about the source of the water contamination in Alamosa recently was their storage tank and/or cross connections. Alamosa does not use chlorine to disinfect their water (not a fact) however…the Town of Estes Park does use chlorine (which has its own chemistry issues). The Estes Park Water Department has stated, an outbreak similar to Alamosa would be unlikely in Estes Park (also not a fact).
Does that mean, because we chlorinate…our chances of being contaminated like Alamosa are reduced?
Not hardly…cross connections are mechanical problems, often the result of do-it-yourself midnight plumbers and a lack of a competent inspection programs in small unprofessionally operated communities prone to ignoring the law.
When high flows occur in one section of a water distribution system it can create a vacuum/siphon in an other section. If some weekend plumber…plumbed the fish pond to the water system - instead of filling the fish pond… water would be siphoned out of the fish pond into your drinking water. Regardless of chlorine or no chlorine people get sick. It is suspected that this is what happened in Alamosa. The point is the only real protection you have is a comprehensive water quality testing/inspection programs.
In Estes Park, evidently, water quality testing is conducted on a hit or miss basis, or if there is a possibility of violation samples are just not submitted. TOC testing is required for your protection by federal law, it is not optional, except in Estes Park.
Staff evidently has issue with the operation our treatment facilities which is a standard treatment train, simular systems are operated successfully by hundreds of competent staffs all over Colorado including the City of Denver who treat the same water quality,,, with no issue.
In Estes Park, evidently, water quality testing is conducted on a hit or miss basis, or if there is a possibility of violation samples are just not submitted. TOC testing is required for your protection by federal law, it is not optional, except in Estes Park.
Staff evidently has issue with the operation our treatment facilities which is a standard treatment train, simular systems are operated successfully by hundreds of competent staffs all over Colorado including the City of Denver who treat the same water quality,,, with no issue.
One must ask the question is our water quality problem a staff issue or a facilities issue? If we intent to spend 5.5 million on new treatment technology did we require onsite pilot testing or are we just crossing our fingers and relying on the judgment of staff who forget to even sample?
Staff would like us to believe that what was required was the purchase of a computer program to schedule a mandatory once per month sample. All that is really required is a calendar and a pencil, mark a big X on the first Tuesday of each month - on that day put the water in a jar and send it to the laboratory. If you are not capable of that all the soft wear in the world will not help you.
The physical elimination of certain organic compounds from our water is the task. That is exactly why town staff have chosen to spend 5.5 million or our dollars on a membrane filtration treatment train, the removal of TOC (total organic carbon). If the present technology employed at the treatment plant is not capable of the removals of those compounds during heavy loading, the Estesparkian can understand that and staff reaction to employ improved technology to deal with the problem, that is reasonable and understandable.
What the Estesparkian has issue with is the oops we forgot to sample for the very chemistry issue that requires a 5.5 million dollar fix. Oops, you should be running the street sweeper not the treatment plant! Membrane filtration systems are not easier to operate they are very complex and given exaggerated loading rates can be very expensive.
So the real question here has it become town policy to ignore state and federal law out of political convenience even if our health is in danger? I mean, its not like the town hasn’t set a standard for that type of thing. Health or Marketing oh well its only law it does not apply, its Estes Park, no one reads those glossy fliers anyway. Most of the people that drank that water are long gone back to Iowa anyway!
By the way what we are discussing here are organic compounds that when combined with chlorine improperly can create carcinogens but what the heck.
Drink up your town administrator assured you the water is fine quality testing or no quality testing!
The physical elimination of certain organic compounds from our water is the task. That is exactly why town staff have chosen to spend 5.5 million or our dollars on a membrane filtration treatment train, the removal of TOC (total organic carbon). If the present technology employed at the treatment plant is not capable of the removals of those compounds during heavy loading, the Estesparkian can understand that and staff reaction to employ improved technology to deal with the problem, that is reasonable and understandable.
What the Estesparkian has issue with is the oops we forgot to sample for the very chemistry issue that requires a 5.5 million dollar fix. Oops, you should be running the street sweeper not the treatment plant! Membrane filtration systems are not easier to operate they are very complex and given exaggerated loading rates can be very expensive.
So the real question here has it become town policy to ignore state and federal law out of political convenience even if our health is in danger? I mean, its not like the town hasn’t set a standard for that type of thing. Health or Marketing oh well its only law it does not apply, its Estes Park, no one reads those glossy fliers anyway. Most of the people that drank that water are long gone back to Iowa anyway!
By the way what we are discussing here are organic compounds that when combined with chlorine improperly can create carcinogens but what the heck.
Drink up your town administrator assured you the water is fine quality testing or no quality testing!
