Water Utilities Project Updates

1025.1e – River Pump Station 24-inch Manifold Replacement and Pump Upgrade

The PWMD River Pump Station Improvements Project was planned to increase the raw water pumping capacity of the River Pump Station near the Pueblo Reservoir. This facility pumps raw water to the water treatment plant (WTP) and was identified as a limiting factor to the water system in the latest PWMD Master Plan. The $1.2M project was awarded to Stanek Constructors, Inc. in August 2019 , and is currently approaching substantial completion; final pump testing is currently in process. The project replaced two 150-HP pumps with two 300-HP pumps and increased the pumping capacity of the River Pump Station from about 12 million gallons per day (MGD) to about 29 MGD. The project is expected to be complete by the end of 2020.

1025.3e – Non Potable Water Project at Wastewater Treatment Facility

The PWMD Non-Potable Water Reuse System Project was awarded to Stanek Constructors, Inc. on June 29th, 2020 for $440,800, and the Notice to Proceed was given on June 30th, 2020. To date, 14 submittals have been reviewed and returned, and most of the materials and equipment for the project have been ordered or delivered. As of October 2nd, 2020, approximately 20% of the project scope of work was completed. Site piping has been installed and passed the pressure test on October 23rd, 2020. The valves, piping, and bladder tank have been shipped and are scheduled to arrive in early November. The non-potable water pumps are scheduled to be built by November 6th, and test curves are scheduled to be submitted by November 20th. Construction is anticipated to be complete in early 2021.

1025.4e – Water Conservation Plan Update

The PWMD Water Conservation Plan (Plan) is an effort to manage the District's available water supply through conservation planning and satisfy the Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) Office of Water Conservation and Drought Planning requirements.  In 2001, the District began incorporating water conservation measures and programs in order to initiate water conservation efforts.  This plan update has been developed with a 20-year planning horizon, but has established water reduction goals in five-year increments to allow for continued evaluation of the efficacy of various conservation efforts. Based on current projections, the District’s demand will exceed their current annual water supply portfolio in 2041.  The amount of water use reduction that can be attributed to the implementation of these programs is difficult to calculate, however the residential annual per capita water use has decreased nine percent over ten years.  The updated plan has established a 9.9 percent reduction goal in overall water use over a 20-year planning period. 

1025.5e – North Side Well Field Study Update

In late 2019 and into 2020, W/WW (Water and Waste Water) completed a study to investigate the potential for incorporating the north side groundwater wells into the overall water supply.  The study objectives included the following:

  • Provide a summary of existing water quality data and other well information from each of the six wells;
  • Update recommended potable water treatment trains and opinions of probable cost (OPCs) for two alternatives; as follows:
    • Treatment at the water supply location; and
    • Treatment at the existing WTP.
  • Update recommendations for incorporating the groundwater wells into the raw water supply and treatment alternatives.

This memorandum provides a recommendation of a treatment process with the goal of reducing risk of violations, minimizing operations cost and reducing residual volumes. The recommended solution was to pump water from Well No. 16 to Treatment Plant 1 (TP1) for blending and treatment with raw water. 

1025.6e – Raw Water Storage Feasibility Assessment

In July of 2020, W/WW completed a study on the feasibility of developing various District-owned properties into raw water storage sites The evaluation considered seven different sites. The study determined three of the sites to be feasible for raw water storage, with the largest site capable of storing approximately 835 acre-feet of water, but likely cost prohibitive due to infiltrative or evaporative losses. The cost of developing the storage basin was estimated between $60M and $90M (between $0.22 - $0.33 per gallon of storage).

1025.7e – Platteville Boulevard Waterline Looping

In July of 2020, JVA began the design of an 8-inch waterline looping on Platteville Boulevard between North Canvas Drive and North Iliff Drive. This waterline crosses over the SDS and FVA waterlines, and under a large high-pressure gas utility. The project was awarded to Dream Builders Inc on October 21, 2020 for $67,850. The Project is anticipated to be substantially completed in 2020.

1025.8e – Water Treatment Plant Pretreatment Evaluation

Water and Waste Water is currently finalizing an evaluation of pretreatment options at the Water Treatment Plant (WTP) to reduce turbidity, total organic carbon (TOC), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), manganese (Mn), and other potential constituents of concern from the raw water prior to clarification and filtration.  This pretreatment is to help mitigate the formation of disinfection byproducts (DBPs), taste and odors, as well as extending filter run times and loading rates of the existing filters. The evaluation will include consideration for two shortlisted treatment options including identification of existing infrastructure with recommendations for equipment/buildings that may be reused/repurposed, plant hydraulics, filter loading rates, operational requirements, constructability, site location, capital and operational costs. The evaluation will include a summary of the required equipment and appropriateness for use at the District WTP, estimated capital cost and 20-year present worth analysis, and a listing of regulatory requirements pertaining to the modification of the treatment process at the WTP. 

1770.9c – Wildhorse Pipeline Final Design

In July of 2020, W/WW reinitiated the final design of the Wildhorse Pipeline after a three year hold due to unsuccessfully trying to obtain the final easements needed for the pipeline. As part of this effort, JVA has been designing three new flow metering structures that are part of the District’s Reuse and Exchange Plant under the Phase B Accounting portion of Decree 85CW134B. JVA has undertaken additional survey, potholing, environmental assessment of wetlands, easement coordination, resubmission of the County 1041 Pre-Application in pursuit of a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI), redesign of a realigned portion of the Wildhorse Pipeline to avoid the properties that we were unable to procure easements for, coordination with the US Army Corps of Engineers for a Nationwide Permit, and coordination with the City of Pueblo, and other stakeholders. We are currently targeting bid documents ready in early 2021. We are also seeking final permits and easements executed around this time with assistance from the District and outside agencies.

1770.10c – Lift Station 3

The PWMD States Avenue Lift Station (LS3) and Force Main project was planned to replace the previous on-site wastewater treatment system that served the States Avenue industrial park and integrate this area into Pueblo West’s centralized sewer collection system. Construction was performed as two separate projects to maximize efficiencies from contractors for construction of the linear infrastructure and the lift station building. The dual force main and gravity sewer project was awarded to Pate Construction Company in March 2018 and completed in April 2019. The underground piping for the lift station consisted of about 7,000 linear feet (LF) of gravity sewer mains and about 8,000 LF of pressurized force mains. The lift station project was awarded to Stanek Constructors Inc. in November 2018 and completed in November 2019. The lift station has a number of unique design features that will allow the new system to effectively serve the community as the population of Pueblo West continues to grow.