Colorado Springs’ sewer improvements as part of its commitment to Pueblo County in 2009 total $9 million

From The Pueblo Chieftain (Chris Woodka):

The largest expenditure reported by Colorado Springs was $7.7 million to inspect and rehabilitate sanitary sewer pipes less than 10 inches in diameter. About 20.5 miles of pipe were repaired or rehabilitated under this year’s program.

Other expenditures included:

Repair of 131 manholes at a cost of $413,000.
Repair or enlargement of 3,741 feet of pipelines greater than 10 inches in diameter.

The inspections and repairs reduce the risk of sewer spills or overflows, the report states.

Meanwhile the Colorado Water Quality Control Commission is stirring up controversy with their plans to possibly list Fountain Creek as only seasonally impaired for E.coli and delist it for selenium, according to Chris Woodka writing for The Pueblo Chieftain. From the article:

If approved, that would remove some limits on effluent put into Fountain Creek and further harm water quality, say groups opposing the move. “Their position is that the waterway will always accept more effluent,” said Joe Santarella, attorney for the Rocky Mountain Environmental Labor Coalition and Sierra Club. “There is no incentive for dischargers to meet TMDL limits.”

TMDL — total maximum daily load — on any pollutant is a standard adapted under Section 303(d) of the federal Clean Water Act to ensure that levels in an impaired stream do not become worse. The state’s action would relax the need for sewer dischargers to meet such levels, Santarella said. “State regulation has rendered the 303(d) process meaningless,” he said.

Pueblo District Attorney Bill Thiebaut is joining the environmental groups in opposing the state Division of Water Quality Control recommendations on Fountain Creek.

The Water Quality Control Commission will have a hearing on recommendations on streams statewide beginning at 9:30 a.m. Monday at state Department of Public Health and Environment offices, 4300 Cherry Creek Drive South, Denver…

The data used to make the determination show that overall, Fountain Creek E. coli is just below year-round levels for E. coli impairment, but reaches double the acceptable level from May to October. After challenges to the methodology, the division revised the seasonal limits to January to October on the reach above Pueblo instead. “The WQCD fails to explain what would be accomplished by eliminating two months (November and December) from the current annual impairment listing. In fact, nothing beneficial would be accomplished. Instead, the WQCD’s proposal would only confuse the general public and pose a risk to public health,” John Barth, Thiebaut’s attorney, noted in comments to the commission.

Colorado Springs Utilities attorney Richard Griffith supports the initial state recommendations, arguing recreation is not likely to occur during the winter months. “Utilities supports the seasonal listing methodology because recreation is most likely to occur during the warmer months of the year and impairment evaluation of E. coli data limited to those months can reveal impairment which may not be evident when calculated on an annual basis,” Griffith said.

In its comments, the Environmental Protection Agency supports seasonal limits, but warned against increases of flow. “EPA believes that it would be unwise to allow any new or increased discharges outside of the seasonal window (whatever season that is determined to be) that would result in the attainment in the E. coli standard,” said Karl Hermann, of the Region 8 water quality unit…

The state also is ignoring a Colorado State University-Pueblo study of how living plants along Fountain Creek absorb pollutants because it is still in progress. That could be the crux of future water quality problems on Fountain Creek, Vincent said.

More Southern Delivery System coverage here and here. More Fountain Creek coverage here and here.