New Water Treatment Plan Solves Radionuclide Issue

For immediate release May 17, 2012

Mountain Water and Sanitation District Has New Water Treatment Plant

The Mountain Water and Sanitation District (MWSD), which serves about 375 homes in the Kings Valley subdivision in Conifer, has a new state-of-the-art water treatment plant, one of the first in the state to remove radionuclides from the water.

The EPA developed stringent radionuclide regulations for water in 2003 that regulates community water systems but not wells of individual homeowners. Because of naturally occurring uranium, some of the MWSD wells didn’t meet the new EPA requirements. MWSD was one of 67 small water districts in the state that were found out-of-compliance with the EPA regulations. The MWSD Board of Directors and staff immediately began researching how to fix the problem.

After several years of working with water engineering firms and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, MWSD constructed a treatment plant for radionuclide removal. The plant went into service in February 2012, and as a result, the district’s drinking water meets all regulations for uranium, with levels well below the requirements.

The district is also working on meeting more stringent wastewater discharge requirements. On May 8, MWSD voters approved a property tax increase, so the district can borrow $2,000,000 to construct a new wastewater treatment plant. The current wastewater treatment plant is about 40 years old and doesn’t meet current state and federal discharge requirements. The district has already developed a preliminary engineering report for a replacement plant, is researching funding sources, and hopes to have a new plant online in the next couple of years.