On Oct. 7, the Pagosa Springs Town Council approved a resolution supporting the passage of ballot measure 2A in the upcoming November election.
If approved by town voters, it would create a 1 percent sales tax to be collected by businesses operating within town limits.
The revenues generated from the new sales tax would be used “for the purposes of funding critical wastewater infrastructure improvements within the Pagosa Springs Sanitation General Improvement District (PSSGID),” the resolution states.
The PSSGID operates about 17 miles of sewer pipes, handling about 325,000 gallons of sewer per day and serving about 1,500 customers, according to the town.
Through a series of pump and lift stations, the PSSGID conveys its wastewater about 7 miles uphill to the Vista Wastewater Treatment Plant, which is owned and operated by the Pagosa Area Water and Sanitation District (PAWSD).
A recent memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the PSSGID and PAWSD states, “There remains uncertainty as to the long-term viability of the [district’s] main pipeline and two pump stations.”
The town has described the state of the system’s quality as “fair or poor,” with the average age of the piping in the system being more than 50 years old and up to one-third of the system needing immediate critical repairs to remain functional.
The town has estimated that the cost of fixing the sewer system stands at $80 million to $100 million, with the most immediate problem to address being what the town describes as category 4 and 5 problems with the aging sewer pipes.
This problem might have been made worse by the recent flooding, said Public Works Director Karl Johnson at a meeting on Oct. 14 centering on the recent flooding.
The swelling of the San Juan River caused extraordinary inflow and infiltration of unwanted water into the system, with Johnson saying that “some Cat 3s will likely become 4s, and 4s will become 5s,” but that his team won’t be able to fully assess the damage until they can inspect the entire system.
The most obvious damage to the system, as a result of the flooding, occurred on the main sewer line that hangs under the 1st Street bridge, he told council.
The Pagosa Springs Police Department made the decision to close the bridge when it noticed that the pipe was taking hits from flood debris.
Johnson said that “a tree had wedged itself on the topside of the sewer main,” explaining that it then started catching other debris until it “snapped” the line.
Town staff installed “a temporary bypass” of the sewer main on the bridge and was back in operation as of 11 a.m. Tuesday morning, Johnson explained.
The town had estimated that the category 4 and 5 problems with the piping would cost about $15 million before the flooding took place, but it’s possible this cost could go up once the flood damage is fully assessed.
Johnson and Town Manager David Harris noted that they anticipate some state and federal funding as a result of a disaster declaration to address the damage caused by the flooding.
Town staff estimates that, if 2A passes, it would generate about $3.6 million in revenues for sewer repairs in year one of its implementation.
Longer term, the town envisions the possibility of building its own sewer treatment plant downtown to get away from the current uphill conveyance system.
During a budget work session on Oct. 7, Harris presented to the council a “what if” budget scenario if 2A is approved by the voters.
Harris explained that the town would create a “new fund,” called the Sewer Infrastructure Fund (SIF), that would be funded by the sales tax increase.
“We can do major projects in our new SIF fund,” he said.
He added, “We can fund new sewer lines, engineering for a new treatment plant,” among other things related to the sewer system repairs,
He noted that, if 2A passes, the town would likely add another employee to the Public Works Department.
Council member Leonard Martinez suggested that the town should be strategic about planning ahead on the sewer repairs, saying that the first couple of years, if 2A passes, would be dominated by addressing the category 4 and 5 problems.
Harris agreed, saying that the wastewater treatment plant is seven to 10 years down the road, but he wanted the council to be aware that the sales tax increase would not generate enough revenue to pay “cash” for a new plant, explaining that some debt would still be needed to complete such a project in that time frame.
However, he noted that the town would be in a much better position to take on debt to build a new town-owned plant if 2A passes.
Mayor Shari Pierce suggested that although the town’s sewer system customers only make up a small portion of the overall community, with the majority of the area’s residents either being customers of PAWSD or on a septic system, that everyone uses the town’s system at some point.
She noted that the town’s sewer system “affects our greater community,” adding that if you send kids to the schools, shop in the stores or use town parks, then the system is used.
“If we don’t have a sewer system, then we can’t have people here,” she said, with Harris adding, “You took the words right out of my mouth, Mayor.”
“We’ve been hemorrhaging money towards this problem since I’ve been on the council,” council member Madeline Bergon said.
Touting 2A as a solution, council member Gary Williams said, “This approach provides that tourists will pay for a part of this,” along with town residents and other visitors to town.
He added that 2A is an “elegant solution for the problem that we have.”
Council member Mat deGraaf added that he did not like the “reactionary” approach of “when something breaks we fix it,” which the town has taken to tackle the sewer problem, saying that 2A is a more “strategic plan to make something happen.”
When entertaining a motion to approve the resolution, Pierce noted that she is “very excited” about the prospect of 2A being approved by the voters.
“I hope this is the first in a lot of steps to solve the [sewer] problem,” she said.
When a motion was made to approve the resolution supporting 2A, the council approved it unanimously.
derek@pagosasun.com
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