On Tuesday, Feb. 10, the Town of Pagosa Springs released an emergency wastewater system alert for residents within the town-run Pagosa Springs Sanitation General Improvement District (PSSGID), generally homes and businesses east of Piedra Road, including the downtown area.
The release explains that “utility crews have been working … to address a failure at Pump Station #2, leaving the pump out of operation.”
The release adds, “This pump failure has the potential of causing liquid waste to overflow the well,” and asks residents “to minimize use of the wastewater system” by limiting the “amount of water going down the drain in all forms.”
The release specifically asked PSSGID users to:
• Only flush solid waste and minimize flushing liquid waste.
• Take shorter showers and baths.
• Avoid using the sink, washing machine and dishwasher.
The PSSGID currently maintains about 17 miles of sewer pipes, with 325,000 gallons of sewage pumped per day, serving 1,500 households, according to the town.
The town’s release explains that an emergency bypass pump “is on the scene and being connected,” with that work anticipated to be completed that night.
However, Town Manager David Harris noted that the bypass pump had yet to be made operational as of 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 11.
Harris explained that the town’s utility crew “is still waiting on one part to finalize the connection” of the bypass pump, adding that the pump station remains operational, but in a sort of “reduced rate manual mode,” which is why the town asked residents to limit usage.
He added that the utility crew moved the backup bypass pump from Pump Station #1 over to Pump Station #2, but noted that “we have ordered two more rental bypass pumps that we will have by tomorrow” to serve as backups at both pump stations.
The root cause of this most recent breakdown is unknown at this time, Harris explained, but it appears to be something wrong with the “electronics.”
There’s a problem “in communication, or the ability of the pumps to talk to each other,” he said, adding that he is not sure if this was caused by an “internet service” problem or possibly a faulty “modem.”
He added that users should be able to go back to near-normal usage of the wastewater system once the bypass pump is operational, “hopefully” by Wednesday afternoon or evening.
This most recent wastewater emergency is part of a long list of repairs, replacements and bypasses of pumps since the PSSGID first began pumping its wastewater, through a series of pump and lift stations, 7 miles uphill to the Pagosa Area Water and Sanitation District’s (PAWSD’s) Vista Treatment Plant.
In January, the PSSGID also asked residents and businesses in the district to limit their usage after a submersible pump guide rail system disconnected, halting the operation of Pump Station #1, where a bypass pump had to be installed to keep it operational.
The town also had to battle an emergency situation caused by the failure of a submersible pump last summer at Pump Station #2 after an electrical surge caused by a lightning strike took out one of the pumps at that station, with the remaining pump failing on the afternoon of June 16, 2025.
Flooding in October 2025 also knocked out a sewer main under the U.S. 160 bridge at 1st Street, necessitating a bypass of that sewer main.
At a recent work session, Public Works Director Karl Johnson said, “We’re finding, as time goes by, that besides trying to do that distance [pumping wastewater uphill] and the lift we are doing, that alone was not a good idea.”
He added his staff is also finding flaws in the equipment originally purchased for this uphill conveyance system.
“The materials of construction and how it was constructed and who constructed it, it all wasn’t a good idea from the get-go, and it’s been really challenging,” he said.
On Wednesday, Harris explained that, ultimately, the town-run PSSGID is looking for ways to get away from the current uphill conveyance system, adding that “we replaced all of the pumps only about five years ago, and here we are again.”
Harris noted that the town would be applying for a “discharge permit” with the state to allow it to begin the preliminary process of exploring a downtown wastewater treatment plant at Yamaguchi Park South.
In the meantime, the PSSGID will need to keep the current uphill conveyance system functional, which requires that the town will have to continue to pour money into fixing problems as they arise, he added.
Every time a new emergency emerges with the current conveyance system, resources have to be diverted from a $4 million bond that the town took out to repair what they have deemed category 4 and 5 problems with aging sewer pipes in the system, Harris explained.
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