Protecting Water Quality in Chatfield’s Watershed, Located Southwest of Denver, Colorado, USA

Northwest Douglas County stakeholders’ meetings start April 5, 2012

Douglas County, CO… Douglas County staff will hold a stakeholder meeting on Thursday, April 5 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Louviers Clubhouse, 7865 Louviers Blvd. in Louviers.  This meeting will kick-off a two-month process that will explore with local service providers, businesses, and property owners the feasibility of developing transportation, storm water drainage, water and wastewater infrastructure for Northwest Douglas County.  The anticipated outcome of this project will be to obtain input from the affected service providers, business community members, and property owners in regard to creation of an infrastructure plan for financing and developing service infrastructure.  A presentation about the process and meeting schedule begins at 6:15 p.m., followed by opportunities for discussion and questions. 

According to Meme Martin, Douglas County’s Economic Development Manager, “Douglas County’s northwest quadrant misses out on economic development opportunities because of commercial and industrial zoning that is not ’shovel-ready’ due to lack of service infrastructure.”  Past piecemeal development in Northwest Douglas County has demonstrated the high costs and inability of landowners to secure water, wastewater, transportation and drainage services to the area.  Presently, various entities work independently to bring renewable water to Northwest Douglas County.  Bringing these parties together along with service providers, businesses, and property owners will aid in gauging stakeholder interest in creating a multi-phase plan for service infrastructure improvements. 

For more information visit www.douglas.co.us/planning/NW_Infrastructure_Plan.html or contact Kati Rider with the Community Planning and Sustainable Development Department at 303-660-7460.

Protecting Chatfield’s Water Quality

Chatfield Reservoir certainly offers a lot of water-related recreational activities. Anyone who has visited it knows that. But, what many don’t know is about the team of experts that constantly monitor and protect the Reservoir’s water quality. They are the water professionals and environmental regulatory agencies that make up the Chatfield Watershed Authority (Authority).

With a mission to protect Chatfield’s water quality, while protecting our environment, the Authority collects monthly water samples in the reservoir, creeks and rivers to monitor water quality changes in accordance with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) - Water Quality Control Commission (WQCC) standards.  The Authority recently announced its most current water quality data collected in 2011 demonstrated that all water quality standards for Chatfield Reservoir were met, protecting the water supply, fisheries, recreation and other uses in the reservoir.

In addition, the team also works to stabilize creek and river channels flowing into Chatfield Reservoir to help avoid and minimize erosion of the stream banks that enter the reservoir. It is through their on-going research, science, data collection and reports that they are able to provide factual evidence about the quality of the water for all types of uses. With this information, the Authority helps to promote water quality protection in Chatfield Reservoir and its entire watershed.

Co-Chairman of the Authority, Larry Moore said, “We are currently pursuing many good ideas that will support the high-quality water in the Chatfield Watershed and are moving ahead to implement these important projects.” He continued, “Our recent grant funding from State agencies will help us continue to implement watershed improvements aimed at promoting water quality in the Chatfield Reservoir even further.” 

Today the Authority continues to implement projects such as stabilizing eroded stream banks, protecting natural habitats, and promoting water quality enhancements in the Watershed and Chatfield Reservoir. Be assured that, behind-the-scenes, this team of water quality experts is watching over and working hard to ensure that Chatfield Reservoir and its watershed remains a great place to visit with water quality that meets the multiple uses that occur at the reservoir.

To learn more about the Authority, its members, projects, and what you can do to help, please visit: ChatfieldWatershedAuthority.org.

Water Professionals Protect Water Quality In Chatfield Watershed

Protecting the water quality in Chatfield Reservoir, by managing the pollutants that enter the Chatfield Watershed, was the focus of a recent gathering of the Colorado Water Quality Control Commission, stakeholders of the Chatfield Watershed Authority (Authority), and other concerned water-quality managers. They all came together for an on-site educational seminar and tour of the Chatfield Watershed that was conducted on October 11th by members of the Authority.

According to Larry Moore, Co-Chairman of the Authority, “Our primary focus is to protect the water quality in the Chatfield Reservoir through on-going planning and implementation of water quality monitoring and projects. It’s important to know that one of the leading causes of contaminants (nutrients) in Chatfield actually comes from unknown (nonpoint) sources. These nonpoint sources, which account for about 80% of nutrient load problem, come from nutrients derived from livestock manure, pet wastes, aged/unmaintained septic systems, runoff of excess fertilizers from residential or agricultural land, and sediment from eroding stream banks into the water supply.”    The tour took the state water quality policy-makers to Chatfield Reservoir and tributaries to the Reservoir, Massey Draw and Plum Creek, to discuss water quality issues, including stream restoration improvements to reduce erosion and opportunities to improve water quality near environmentally sensitive areas like Plum Creek.  

Said Co-Chairman of the Authority Kevin Urie, “We have a lot of great ideas for improving the water quality in the Chatfield Watershed. With our collaborative efforts and partnerships, we aim to get the support needed to move these necessary projects forward. Watershed planning and funding are essential to promote water quality in our watershed and reservoir in order to keep the water safe for everyone.”

The Authority has been the recent recipient of grants from State agencies to provide funding support for developing a watershed plan, conducting additional water quality monitoring in Plum Creek, and controlling erosion along streams in the watershed. The Authority is a local volunteer agency comprised of water professionals and state and local environmental oversight agencies.  The Authority has sustained a water-quality monitoring program for the past 25 years in order to promote the long-term protection of water quality in the watershed and reservoir for drinking water, fisheries, recreation, and other beneficial uses through various programs to manage and monitor pollutant controls as an oversight group.  Said the Authority’s Manager Julie Vlier, “Educating the public is an essential part of the outreach effort that is focused on priority projects such as the North Massey Draw Stream Restoration Improvement at the Ken-Caryl Equestrian Center and Livestock Management projects for agricultural users in the watershed. That’s why the Authority stakeholders felt compelled to hold the tour of the Chatfield Watershed and we are so pleased with the turnout.”

The Chatfield Watershed includes over 400-square miles and is comprised of key drainage areas including Plum Creek, Deer Creek, Massey Draw, and a portion of the South Platte River from the outfall of Strontia Springs Reservoir to Chatfield Reservoir. 

Click here to read a press release from Denver Water regarding the closure of Waterton Canyon due to the sediment dredging project at Strontia Springs Reservoir. (June 2010)

Walleye Egg Collection

During the week of March 29th, the Colorado Division of Wildlife collected Walleye eggs from the Walleye fishery in Chatfield Reservoir.  Authority member, Robert Estes, Sedalia, took these photos of the activity on Wednesday March 31st. Click here to view gallery.

Colorado Medication Take-Back

Tri-County Health Department (TCHD) is proud to announce that we are a participating partner in the new Colorado Medication Take-Back Project which officially kicked off December 1, 2009.
 
This is an important program because the proper disposal of medications helps to prevent accidental poisoning, decreases the ability for older children and teens to experiment with easily available medications, and protects our waterways from pollution.
 
More information and brochures can be found at the following link:
http://www.coloradomedtakeback.info  
 
The Medication Take-Back Project is a network of secure boxes for the collection of unused and unwanted household medications. The collection boxes can be found at ten convenient locations - eight on the Front Range and two in Summit County.  TCHD has two collection boxes which are located at the Englewood and Commerce City Offices plus two King Soopers locations in our service area.  This is a free service for the community.
 
The program is designed to collect NON-CONTROLLED substances only.  This is a great opportunity to provide educational information to the public to ensure the proper disposal of controlled substances (narcotics and infections waste).  Medication should never be dumped down the drain or flushed.  Medication should be removed from their original containers, mixed with an undesirable substance such as kitty litter or coffee grounds then disposed of with household trash.

CDOT Works to Minimize Water Quality Impacts

The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) has worked hard to adopt best management practices to minimize water quality impacts from its projects.  The power point presentation used at the January 27, 2010 board meeting, describes some of the water quality control aspects of projects in the Chatfield basin.  CDOT estimates they prevented 36 tons of sediment from getting into Plum Creek and Chatfield Reservoir in 2009 alone.  For more information on CDOT’s efforts and to report any potential problems, please contact CDOT Region 1, East Program Engineer, Ms. Carrie DeJiacomo, PE, at Carrie.DeJiacomo@dot.state.co.us.

A important news topic is the increasing cost for constructing and maintaining water and wastewater treatment infrastructure. On this page you’ll find several articles addressing the issue. The Water Funding Needs document includes excerpts from recent activities and some of the other documents on this page. Estimation of Costs of Phosphorus Removal is a technical study of the cost of removing additional phosphorus from effluent streams under several different scenarios. A Call to Action is a speech given by G. Tracy Mehan, III, former EPA Director, at the Sustainable Infrastructure Conference on April 30-May 1, 2007, in Groton Connecticut. More news articles will be added as available and appropriate.

PBS has aired the Frontline Special ‘Poisoned Waters’.  While the Chatfield Watershed Authority does not endorse the findings of the program, it raises interesting questions and presents technical issues in an easily understood format.  We encourage anyone interested in the complex issue of protecting water quality to watch this entertaining program. Read More

The Castle Rock Town Council has sent a letter to Mr. Steve Gunderson of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment regarding recent changes to the standards in Chatfield Reservoir.  The letter describes the Town Council’s concerns with the changes including:

• Inappropriate water quality priorities;
• Unfunded mandates; and
• The focus on point sources when most of the pollutants are from nonpoint sources.

Articles

Hazards in the Water - by David Olinger

Characterizing Chlorophyll Distributions in Colorado Lakes

Pueblo Chieftain - Zebra mussel cousins pop up at Lake Granby

Water Funding Needs

A Call to Action

Estimation of Costs Phosphorus Removal

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