Pagosa Springs’ water and wastewater service providers — the Pagosa Area Water and Sanitation District (PAWSD) and the Pagosa Springs Sanitation General Improvement District (PSSGID) — suffered more than $13 million in damage to their systems in last week’s flooding event, according to Wednesday estimates.
The PSSGID suffered about $9 million in damage, stated Pagosa Springs Town Manager David Harris, while PAWSD Programs Manager Renee Lewis indicated that, on Wednesday morning, PAWSD estimated damages at $4,005,000.
Lewis emphasized that this is a “VERY preliminary” estimate since some PAWSD infrastructure is still inaccessible.
According to Harris, the PSSGID, which provides sewer service for downtown Pagosa Springs and is operated by the Town of Pagosa Springs, primarily suffered damage to all three of its lift stations, its two pumping stations on the line that moves wastewater from downtown to PAWSD’s Vista wastewater treatment plant, and to the sewer line that runs under the 1st Street bridge on U.S. 160.
He explained that the pumps and electrical equipment at these stations all suffered damage due to being inundated with water and that at least some of the equipment in all these stations will likely need to be replaced.
Harris stated that the pump stations on the line to Vista are currently operating with one set of dry and submersible pumps each, when they normally use two sets of pumps that alternate operations to give each set downtime.
He indicated that the inundation during the flooding also led to the system overflowing raw sewage into the San Juan River once its pumping capacity was exceeded at the Vista pipeline.
The forced main for the Vista pipeline handled 1.7 million gallons of water on Thursday, Oct. 22; 1.58 million gallons on Friday, Oct. 23; and 1.32 million gallons on Saturday, Oct. 24, Harris stated.
He added that the pipeline usually handles about 350,000 gallons of wastewater per day.
“And that’s what made it into the pipe and didn’t go downstream into the river,” he said.
Harris stated that, by Sunday Oct. 24, the overflow had stopped and the system was back to operating as normal.
He indicated that the PSSGID is working with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and the Archuleta County Public Health Department to determine next steps related to the spill.
The damage to the 1st Street bridge pipeline was due to the water rising high enough to destroy the pipe that runs under the bridge, Harris stated.
Prior to the flooding, the PSSGID implemented a bypass using a flexible pipe running along the sidewalk on top of the bridge and a temporary pump on the east end of the bridge, Harris explained, which is still in operation since the normal pipe has been destroyed.
He added that this incident accounts for a significant portion of the cost of the damages that the PSSGID suffered.
Harris also stated that the PSSGID suffered other miscellaneous damage, including to work that was in progress to replace sections of the McCabe Creek sewer line, which is a large source of inflow and infiltration of outside water into the PSSGID system.
He indicated that this work was nearing completion prior to the flood and that it suffered at least some damage during the flooding, although the town is still working to assess the situation.
Harris indicated that, despite the damage, the sewer system did not fail to function for any customers during the flooding incident.
According to an update from Lewis, damage to the PAWSD system included some water and wastewater pipelines that were exposed due to roads washing out and/or damaged in other flood-related incidents.
An Oct. 26 update from PAWSD District Manager Andrew Connor to the PAWSD Board of Directors highlights exposed pipelines on Mockingbird Lane and North Pagosa Boulevard due to roads washing out, as well as water line issues at 2nd Street and Hermosa Street.
However, the update adds that the exposed pipelines have been bedded with fresh material and are now operating normally and that the issues at 2nd Street and Hermosa Street were isolated to a leaking valve on the Apache Street water line, which has now been replaced.
Bedding a water or wastewater line involves ensuring that the material supporting the line from underneath is appropriately supportive and free of material like rocks that could cause damage.
Connor states in his update that the district will likely have to replace the exposed lines at Mockingbird Lane and North Pagosa Boulevard in the future, but that this will occur in conjunction with the county repairing the road washouts that cause the exposures.
His update states that the Snowball and Hatcher Lake water treatment plants are fully operational and that the diversion on the San Juan River that provides water to the Snowball plant and its associated reservoir has been cleared sufficiently to allow water to flow into the reservoir.
The San Juan water treatment plant, located at PAWSD’s offices at 100 Lyn Ave., which also contains the Vista wastewater treatment plant, was shut off before the flooding began, according to Lewis.
In an Oct. 23 update to the PAWSD board, Connor also states that the Vista wastewater treatment plant “held” during the flooding and remains operational.
He adds that the plant treated 5.7 million gallons of wastewater during the Oct. 22 and Oct. 23 flooding events.
In her update, Lewis states that damage to the river and creek diversions that feed PAWSD’s water treatment plants is yet to be fully determined.
“Our water and wastewater systems require 24/7 management,” Lewis said. “As such, we are accustomed to responding to infrastructure issues quickly and at all times of the day/night. PAWSD staff has been preparing for and working on the impacts from the flood event since before it began and will continue to do so until all issues are resolved.”
She adds, “We greatly appreciate the patience of all PAWSD customers as we work through the remainder of the flood event.”
josh@pagosasun.com
>