Legal Notice

Notice of Public Hearing
for Teller County Water & Sanitation District #1
Woodland Park, Colorado

Date: June 24^th, 2022
Time:6:00 PM
Location: Woodland Park Community Church
Address: 800 Valley View Dr
                Woodland Park, CO 80863
Colorado Topic: Water Treatment Plant Facility

A public hearing will be conducted for informing citizens and soliciting public input, written or oral, regarding the Teller County Water & Sanitation District #1 Water Treatment Plant and Project Needs Assessment (PNA). The PNA is a report detailing the project consisting of radium removal. The report is being submitted to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) to qualify Teller County Water & Sanitation District #1 for a State Revolving Fund Loan.

Teller County Water and Sanitation District #1 recently exceeded the combined Radium 226+228 MCL of 5 pCi/L in 2021. This exceedance spurred a violation notice for this community system to put into place a plan to provide the customers potable water with radium levels below the MCL. Teller County Water and Sanitation District #1 desires to apply for State Revolving Funds to assist with the capital and engineering costs that will be associated with the proven alternative necessary to reduce radium in the potable water system. Options evaluated were 1) purchase water from City of Woodland Park interconnect, 2) regenerable ion exchange with wastewater from treatment sent to the City of Woodland Park wastewater treatment plant, 3) single-use ion exchange resin with spent resin disposal hauled by a licensed hazardous waste hauler to a licensed and certified hazardous waste disposal facility, and 4) using HMO for the precipitation of radium and then hauling the solids to an approved licensed and certified landfill.

The estimated cost of the project is $1,500,000.

Copies of the Project Needs Assessment are available for public review prior to the Public Hearing at the following location:

Teller County Water & Sanitation District #1,
212 S Chestnut St, Woodland Park, Colorado.

The point of contact for the Teller County Water & Sanitation District #1 is Lisa Rector, Office Manager, 719-687-0761.

Teller County Water & Sanitation District #1
Jay Hetzel
Board President

IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR DRINKING WATER
Teller County WSD
High Levels of Combined Radium

Este informe contiene información muy importante sobre su agua potable. Tradúzcalo o hable con alguien que lo entienda bien.

Our water system recently violated a drinking water requirement. Although this situation is not an emergency, as our customers you have a right to know what happened, what you should do and what we are doing to correct this situation.

We routinely monitor for the presence of drinking water contaminants. On February 9, 2022 we were notified that our system exceeds the maximum contaminant level (MCL) for Combined Radium. The MCL is 5 pCi/L. The average level over the last year was 6.63 pCi/L.

NOTE: This advisory is NOT related to COVID-19. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has stated that the “Virus that causes COVID-19 has not been detected in drinking water.” For additional information on COVID-19 and drinking water, you can refer to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s website: https://covid19.colorado.gov.

What does this mean? What should I do?

• You may want to use an alternative drinking water supply (e.g. bottled). If you have specific health concerns, consult your doctor.
  
• Some people who drink water containing radium -226 or -228 in excess of the MCL over many years may have an increased risk of getting cancer.
• If you have an infant, severely compromised immune system, are pregnant, or are elderly, you may be at increased risk and should seek advice from your doctor about drinking this water. General guidelines on ways to lessen the risk of infection by bacteria and other disease-causing organisms are available from EPA’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-426-4791.

What is being done?

• The Water District Board has engaged with an Engineer to evaluate two treatment options and operational costs. The Board is also looking at different funding options.

We anticipate resolving the problem by late 2022 or early 2023. For more information, please contact Lawrence (Larry) Watters at wh2osllc@gmail.com or 719-338-5429, or PO BOX 578, Woodland Park, CO 80866.

*Please share this information with all the other people who drink this water, especially those who may not have received this notice directly (for example, people in apartments, nursing homes, schools, and businesses). You can do this by posting this notice in a public place or distributing copies by hand or mail.*

This notice is being sent to you by: Teller County WSD – CO0160600

Date distributed: March 10, 2022

Teller County Water February Newsletter
Distributed February 1^st, 2022

May 2022 Election – Call for Board Members

Do you have the passion and interest to sit as a member on the District’s Board of Directors?
Our next election is set to occur on Tuesday, May 3^rd, 2022 and there are two open seats available. We are currently seeking individuals who have a genuine interest in positively shaping our community, along with the ability to make good, sound business decisions for the District.
Any individual who is at least 18 years of age, lives within the District’s boundaries or owns taxable property situated within the boundaries of the District is eligible to apply.

If you are interested in applying for a position, please contact us by phone at (719) 687-0761 or by e-mail at TellerWater@gmail.com to request a Self-Nomination Form. The Self-Nomination form may be e-mailed or mailed back to us. It may also be dropped off in person at our billing office located at 212 S Chestnut Street, Woodland Park. The forms must be received no later than 4:30 PM on Friday, February 25th.

2022 District Rates

After careful examination of the District’s Budget and finances, the Board has come to an agreement that inflationary costs can be absorbed without raising rates this year. With upgrades to the plant’s infrastructure on the horizon, rate increases are probable in years to come. The Board continues to monitor our financial situation and is working diligently to minimize the impact of any major system upgrades.

The 2022 Schedule of Fees and final approved Budget are available on our website www.TellerWater1.com on the Documents page.

Water Usage Portal – Website Launch

The company that processes the District’s meter reads, Pathway Reads, has informed us that the highly anticipated Customer Portal is now live. The portal will allow you to view and monitor your water usage online- down to the current month (by day) and up to 12 months of historical usage. This is the same information that is available to us at the billing office.

Please visit https://new.mymeterreads.com to get started. We recommend that you reference the user guide on our website, which provides detailed instructions on how to properly register your account. Teller County Water’s property code is 2846, which you will need when you register.
The user guide can be found by visiting www.TellerWater1.com and is located on the Documents page under Miscellaneous.

Changes to Auto-Payment Dates

For many years, we have maintained three separate auto-pay dates: the 1^st of the month, the 5^th
of the month and the 20^th of the month. With the increase in customers who have chosen to utilize our auto-pay service, the District has approved a resolution to transition all of our auto-payment customers to the 20^th (the payment deadline). This change will go into effect beginning March 1^st, 2022. Please contact our office if you have any questions or concerns regarding your individual situation.

Dear Residents,

As you are aware, the District is experiencing elevated levels of Radium 226/228 in the water.
The Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL), as set by the State, is 5 pCi/L. Radium is tested on a quarterly basis. If the average of the prior four quarters is above 5 pCi/L, we are in violation of health department regulations and required to notify all residents.

The 2021 fourth quarter Radium level is 7.6 pCi/L and the four quarter average is 6.28 pCi/L.
Our Water Operator is communicating regularly with the engineering firm JDS Hydro regarding treatment options and estimated cost. The Board and JDS Hydro have agreed that HMO filtration is the most viable treatment option for the District. The biggest obstacle continues to be the disposal of the radium waste. The Board is exploring several options for disposal. Designing and implementing a treatment solution is a lengthy process. The District is in compliance with Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment (CDPHE) requirements for reporting, planning and implementing a solution to the radium violation. The Board is working diligently to rectify the problem as quickly and cost effectively as possible. Thank you for your patience.

For more information on Radium in our area, see the article published on November 29, 2021 in the Gazette. This link will also be available on the Teller County Water website.

Colorado Radium Levels in Drinking Tap Water Highest in Nation

Please visit https://tellerwater1.com/ for updates. Should you have any questions or concerns,
you may contact the office at (719) 687-0761 or email tellerwater@gmail.com. Questions and comments are also addressed at the monthly Board meetings, which are held on the second Wednesday of each month at 5:00 PM, 212 S Chestnut Street, Woodland Park.

Sincerely,
Teller Admin Team
Lisa Rector & Nicole Rucker

Distributed 12-3-2021 Important Information About Your Drinking Water

Dear Residents,

As you are aware, the District is experiencing elevated levels of Radium 226/228 in the water.
The Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL), as set by the State, is 5 pCi/L. Radium is tested on a quarterly basis. If the average of the prior four quarters is above 5 pCi/L, we are in violation of health department regulations and required to notify all residents.

The 2021 third quarter Radium level is 7.2 pCi/L and the four quarter average is 5.8 pCi/L.
Our Water Operator is communicating regularly with the engineering firm JDS Hydro regarding treatment options and estimated cost. The two main options are Ion Exchange or HMO filtration. The biggest obstacle is the disposal of the Radium waste. The Board of Directors is also investigating other water sources. Designing and implementing a treatment solution is a lengthy process. The District is in compliance with Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment (CDPHE) requirements for reporting, planning and implementing a solution to the Radium violation. The Board is working diligently to rectify the problem as quickly and cost effectively as possible. Thank you for your patience.

Please visit https://tellerwater1.com/ for updates. Should you have any questions or concerns,
you may contact the office at (719) 687-0761 or email tellerwater@gmail.com. Questions and comments are also addressed at the monthly Board meetings, which are held on the second Wednesday of each month at 5:00 PM, 212 S. Chestnut Street, Woodland Park.

Sincerely,
Teller Admin Team
Lisa Rector & Nicole Rucker

Distributed 10-4-2021 Important Information About Your Drinking Water