On the evening of New Year’s Day, the Nederland Police Department notified Utilities about a possible water main break at the intersection of Hwy 72 and N. Jefferson Street. The temperature that night was in the single digits with a blistering wind chill. Utilities staff worked to uncover main valves and shut down the water main with the assistance of Sergeant Fine-Loven.

Over the next two days, Utilities staff worked with the Streets and Parks departments to mobilize equipment, create a traffic control plan for CDOT, excavate the water main and repair the leak with a caterpillar clamp. About five customers were affected by the main break and were without water for two days. It was a true moment of teamwork with the Public Works staff coming together to get the job done as quickly as possible and restore service to our customers.

Nederland Wastewater Treatment Facility experienced an upset from excessive grease being discharged into our collections system, which created a foaming issue at the treatment facility.

When fat, oil, and grease are discharged into our system it can cause varying problems from clogs in the collection pipes to filamentous growth in the microbiology at the treatment plant. The filaments cause excessive foaming, poor nutrient removal, and poor settles of the treated water.

The only way to eliminate filaments from our treatment facility is to waste them out to the digester. Due to the grease filaments, staff had to waste an additional 430,000 gallons to the digester instead of treating for nutrient removal and discharging the effluent water. This also required staff to operate the sludge press, using more electricity and chemicals than usual.

It is important that fat, oil, and grease discharge is regulated by a pretreatment policy to prevent upsets of our treatment facility and possible clogs in the collection system, saving staff time and money to remove from our facility.

Staff also replaced a motive pump at the Wastewater Treatment Facility. This requires many hours of staff time and specialized equipment to pull the pump up and out of the submerged basin. Once the pump was removed staff loaded it up on a truck to be sent down to a pump repair shop for rebuild.

Rebuilding these pumps can cost $5,000-$10,000 depending on the size, extent of the failure, and manufacturer’s inflation on the price of parts. A new pump can range from $10,000-$20,000 to purchase and current order fulfillment can be 6 months to a year or more.

Emmett Pelletier

Streets Supervisor

It was all hands on deck to repair a water main break at the intersection of Hwy 72 and N. Jefferson Street in early January. The streets department, in coordination with the Utilities and Parks, were able to complete this repair and return water service to those who were affected in just two days.

Several snow storms in January made snow plowing a regular occurrence, and operations have become more streamlined. The purchase of a new cutting edge for the street grader has also improved ice scraping capabilities. The sidewalk tractor was down for repairs due to a faulty alternator, which delayed the plowing of the sidewalks for several days.

Nicki Dunn

Parks Manager

January of 2022 has brought big changes to the Town of Nederland with the creation of a Parks Department. We are proud to announce Nicki Dunn as the new Parks Manager. Nicki has been with the Town of Nederland for many years and is excited about her new role as manager.

The eventual goal of the Parks department will be to absorb the Nederland Ice RINK and Tennis Park. We have hired a new Parks Lead who will be assisting with this transition. It will be a busy year in Parks. One of the biggest goals will be the completion of the Barker Meadows project.

Nederland Parks Department is responsible for the collection of recycling throughout the Town and at our Community Center. Parks collected and diverted over 9,000 pounds of recycling and cardboard from landfills in 2021. This number does not reflect Town Clean-up Day, scrap metal, or unpainted wood (C&D). Adding these totals in, Nederland diverted over 25,000 pounds from landfills in 2021, a number we should all be proud of!

Keep in mind, this year’s Town Clean-up Day will be Saturday, June 4. Nederland Public Works hopes that we can continue to improve our diversion numbers to align with Town of Nederland Zero Waste goals.