It is highly likely that the districts will install some sort of filter on the wells as they continue to study ways to decontaminate the Widefield aquifer, where the manmade PFC’s lie. The Air Force funding of $4.3 million will be a big help in the process, but it will not happen overnight.
Three weeks after the groundwater southeast of Colorado Springs was deemed to have elevated levels of harmful manmade compounds, the semblance of a long-term plan is beginning to form. The small impacted water districts in Fountain, Security and Widefield had been scrambling to accommodate clean water demands before the Air Force announced its contribution of $4.3 million Tuesday.
“We have a very small budget,” says Roy Heald, Security Water District’s general manager, “and the money that we’re spending now is money that we had planned on using for other things in the future.”
Air Force and Army Corps of Engineers officers will start meeting with the districts individually next week to work out plans based on their specific wells and level of contamination. Heald says many of the wells could end up with Granular Activated Carbon filters, which are commonly used to remove some compounds from water.
Meantime, Security plans to start installing new pipes in the ground next week to better circulate the available surface water. All the districts are asking for the public’s help with moderation. Fountain utilities manager Curtis Mitchell says, “It’s been a challenge as we get in the hot, dry days. We’ve got stage three water restrictions in effect. We’re partnering with our community, trying to avoid using groundwater until we would absolutely have to.”
Mitchell says citizens will likely start seeing solutions like well filters in about three months. Water restrictions are expected to taper off after the hottest part of the year. “As we get into the fall and winter that gives us some breathing room to implement other solutions before next summer,” says Heald, “and we’re confident, especially with the Air Force’s help, that we’ll be able to do that.”
If you live in any of the affected areas, you can learn more for yourself Thursday evening at Mesa Ridge High School. The Air Force and public health officials will be at a public meeting in the auditorium of the school starting at 6 p.m. Space is limited so you may want to arrive early.
Air Force representatives and state health officials met with leaders from Fountain, Security and Widefield water districts to talk about possible solutions to contamination in the groundwater Wedn…
Source: KOAA News5. See more at KOAA.com.
