We are listening, here, to Pagosa Springs Town Manager, Andrea Phillips, at last Thursday’s meeting of the Pagosa Springs Sanitation General Improvement District (PSSGID) board:
“I wish I had better news for you, after our last meeting… but, I need to give you an update on what’s happening to the sanitation collection system.
“We continue to have ongoing issues, and it’s evolving every single day. I think everyone is aware of the history here, but at your last meeting, you did ratify the purchase of an additional new pump… at a cost of $46,469. Since that time, we have actually put in a purchase order for another pump, and this one was $47,926. Both of these pumps are to just keep the wastewater pumping.
“We are down to one train operating in each of the pump stations, Station One and Two, and we are definitely close to an emergency situation.”
The Town’s seven-mile-long sewer pipeline — that replaced, in 2016, an older, gravity-fed ‘lagoon’ treatment system, was engineered by Kansas-based Bartlett & West with two ‘trains’ in each pump station, for safety and redundancy. But an ongoing plague of pump failures, coupled with global supply chain issues, have had the Town’s Public Works staff pulling out their hair in frustration — figuratively speaking — on a daily basis.
Ms. Phillips:
“Unfortunately, as a result of these constant pump failures — impellers wearing out, and seal failures — we don’t have that kind of redundancy. So we continue to keep purchasing these pumps, to have on hand and to swap out when… when they are failing. So we are seeking ratification of this additional pump purchase.
“We also have a diesel-powered transfer pump that we’ve gone ahead and brought here. We tested it out yesterday, and it does work. Thankfully. It is capable of pumping about 550 up to 700 gallons per minute. It’s manually operated, but it would help bypass both of the pumps…”
According to my pocket calculator, the diesel pump mentioned here could pump in excess of 720,000 gallons per day, and I believe the Town sewer system generates about 250,000 gallons per day. The pump rents for $7,700 per month at the ‘standby rate’, which increases if the pump is actually put into use. That’s more than $90,000 per year, for a pump that the Town staff hopes will sit idle.
Ms. Phillips told the Town Council (acting as the Pagosa Springs Sanitation General Improvement District board) that the staff will be installing a ‘bar screen’ to trap some of the inorganic items that are, but should not be, arriving in wastewater… so-called ‘flushable wipes’ which are not actually flushable… plastic toys… grease…
“…The way these pumps are being overtaxed, we’re trying to reduce the amount of wear and extra effort that the pumps are going through.”
The Town has now lost their Utilities Supervisor to a private employer, we were told. “We are actively trying to recruit, to fill that position. I will tell you now, these are incredibly hard positions to fill. Seems like nobody wants to work in this kind of realm, and it does take specialized skills and knowledge… And with the frequent alarms that the SCADA system is sending out at all hours of the day, and having to do emergency call-outs, we are increasing the salary for that position. We’re also providing emergency, on-call pay to the folks who are going to be responding. And we’re adding a second operator position… The way we’re having turnover, and the stress of the system, we really need staffing to help run this…”
Town staff has contacted a company that might be able to renovate the old, decommissioned lagoon near Pump Station One… just in case.
The Town has also reached out to wastewater experts in surrounding communities, to collect ideas and advice.
“To be honest, everyone that we talk to about this, who wasn’t involved in the original project… tell us that this is a very unusual type of system…”
“…but I think there were a lot of flaws, potentially, in the way this was… I won’t say, ‘designed’, but in the way this has all come together. So the long term solution is for us to have conversations with the community and with our partners about other options…”
Might conversations explore the creation of new debt? Fees on new construction, perhaps? Fees on new subdivisions?
The Town still owes $2.2 million to Pagosa Area Water and Sanitation District (PAWSD) for an intergovernmental loan, and $1.4 million to Colorado Water Resources and Power Development Authority, for the existing uphill pipeline system. Annual debt payments, including interest, come to about $362,000. Operations of the pipeline come to about $1 million per year. Lately, these costs have been draining PSSGID cash reserves.
As far as I know, none of the Town’s current staff promoted the sewer pipeline back in 2012, when the project was approved. Nor were any of the current Council members responsible for approving this “very unusual type of system.” Except one.
Here’s Mayor Don Volger, conducting his final meeting as mayor, and admitting that he will “not miss” dealing with the sewer disaster.
“This issue has lasted way too long, and there were a lot of problems at the beginning that should not have happened. But they did.”
Council member Mat deGraaf:
“I don’t have many regrets, but when I first came on Council, I regret that we didn’t hang [engineering firm] Bartlett & West…”
“I do, too,” laughed the Mayor.
“It’s crazy how most people have no idea that this is going on,” offered Council member Nicole Pitcher.
The Mayor praised the staff. “I just want to thank you for going above and beyond, in meeting this challenge. It’s significant, and you shouldn’t have had to deal with this. You didn’t start it…”
Council member deGraaf addressed the Mayor. “You did, actually.” A burst of laughter filled the room.
The Mayor protested. “I don’t believe I was on Council when they made the decisions.” He then turned to me, seated in the audience, with a quizzical look. “Was I, Bill?”
I had to tell the Mayor the truth. Yes, he was indeed one of the Council members who approved a seven-mile, uphill, sewer pipeline in 2012.
A pained expression crossed the Mayor’s face.
“Oh, crap…
“But I didn’t know what was going on. And I was trusting people that I shouldn’t have trusted…”