Chris Pelletier, Public Works Manager . Last month Staff worked to finalize the draft Master Infrastructure Plan (MIP) utility update, repaired a water main break, continued exploring options for grit removal, and completed various trainings. 

Streets Staff member Nicki Dunn completed a training to become the Town’s certified Traffic Control Supervisor. This is a required certification for submission of traffic control plans particularly in CDOT’s Right of Way (ROW) and many municipalities actually require traffic control plans backed by this certification. Ironic timing considering the water main break that occurred in the CDOT’s ROW that required a traffic control plan in order to make repairs. Utilities Supervisor, Jennifer Landon received her Class C certification in water treatment. This is a significant milestone for her and she intends to work towards acquiring her B certification later this year. Nederland’s Water Treatment Facility requires a B certification or greater to be in charge of that facility. The majority of the PW Staff also attended CIRSA winter driving training, and I renewed my backflow certification for testing backflow assemblies. This certification is beneficial for the Town as the state tightens standards for backflow prevention in municipal distribution systems.

Staff worked with the Town’s contracted on-call Engineers JVA Inc., to finalize the MIP utility update and to continue discussions on the upcoming utility rate study. Understanding and prioritizing the future needs of the Town’s utility system is a vital component of this MIP update. An evaluation of the Town’s utility assets also included a hydraulic water model to help evaluate flow through the Town’s distribution system. The water model will help to inform future development decisions as they pertain to fire protection and fire flow in the distribution system. Other things being evaluated are population growth rates over the next 10 - 20 years and future capacity and regulatory needs. These are some of the necessary components to establishing water rates and ensuring sustainability of Nederland’s utility system.

Town Staff visited a comparable wastewater treatment facility to evaluate a grit removal system that staff is considering for the Town’s Wastewater Treatment Facility. These visits are valuable in helping staff make sound decisions when choosing equipment that is efficient and operator friendly. Effectiveness in protecting the facility from grit is certainly the most important consideration but nearly just as important are the operational demands and functionality of the equipment. Staff has paused on any decisions for a final design until all viable options have been explored. Staff will present a final design to the BOT when completed. Nederland’s utility system must be able to operate with a limited number of qualified staff proficient in all areas of treatment, collections and distributions. Staff applied for a Water Quality Improvement Fund Grant in January and was turned down in their request but will continue to pursue other funding opportunities. It is the goal of Town Staff to seek funding to help offset the costs of this upgrade.

A water main break occurred on the northern edge of Hwy 72 and Jefferson Street that resulted in the loss of service to several customers in that area of town. Staff was able to isolate the area and reduce the impact to the rest of town. The majority of Nederland’s downtown water system is constructed of ductile iron pipe installed in the 60’s and 70’s. The break was an unusual circular break that is recognized in the industry to be the result of a defect during production of the pipe in which corrosion has worsened over time. Industry lifespans of ductile iron pipe are between 50-100 years depending on installation, soil properties, and water quality. The frequency of these types of breaks could be an insight into the longevity and future needs of the distribution system. Valves to isolate and turn water off also have a lifespan and more often than not tend to be the component that fails most frequently. In this most recent repair, Staff had to excavate and repair an isolation valve as well. Staff will prioritize repairing and replacing critical isolation valves in anticipation of future water main breaks.

Water main breaks can appear in a number of ways and all of which have their own challenges in determining their locations and making repairs. Breaks can be as subtle as a loss of pressure to full system wide outages. They can be as obvious as large amounts of water surfacing to water simply disappearing in the ground. In this particular scenario the water main broke and discharged into an underground storm sewer which made locating the leak a challenge. Staff quickly hired a professional leak detector yet even with their expertise, and sophisticated equipment led to a number of inaccurate locates. Other challenges include logistics of excavations occurring in CDOT’s ROW such as traffic control, limited space, and weather. Staff ultimately found the break, repaired the main, and returned it to service as efficiently as possible.

To contact Chris Pelletier about anything related to Public Works email chrisp@nederlandco.org.

(Originally published in the February 18, 2021, edition of The Mountain-Ear.)