Protecting Water Quality in Chatfield’s Watershed, Located Southwest of Denver, Colorado, USA
News Highlights
- MS4 Permittees be Prepared!
In 2010, all Phase 2 Stormwater permittees should be prepared for an audit of their stormwater management program conducted by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. Tetra Tech was recently contracted by the Colorado Stormwater Council to develop “Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) Program Audit Guidance” (attach document link). The Guidance assists MS4s with the following:
- Assessing the compliance of MS4 stormwater programs,
- Determining changes that need to be made to a MS4 stormwater program,
- Providing recommendations on strengthening a MS4 stormwater program above and beyond the permit requirements,
- Providing technical assistance, and
- Preparing for an audit from a state or federal agency.
- Articles
Click here to read a press release from Denver Water regarding the closure of Waterton Canyon due to the sediment dredging project at Strontia Springs Reservoir.
Walleye Egg Collection
During the week of March 29th, the Colorado Division of Wildlife collected Walleye eggs from the Walleye fishery in Chatfield Reservoir. Authority member, Robert Estes, Sedalia, took these photos of the activity on Wednesday March 31st. Click here to view gallery.
Colorado Medication Take-Back
Tri-County Health Department (TCHD) is proud to announce that we are a participating partner in the new Colorado Medication Take-Back Project which officially kicked off December 1, 2009.
This is an important program because the proper disposal of medications helps to prevent accidental poisoning, decreases the ability for older children and teens to experiment with easily available medications, and protects our waterways from pollution.
More information and brochures can be found at the following link:
http://www.coloradomedtakeback.info
The Medication Take-Back Project is a network of secure boxes for the collection of unused and unwanted household medications. The collection boxes can be found at ten convenient locations - eight on the Front Range and two in Summit County. TCHD has two collection boxes which are located at the Englewood and Commerce City Offices plus two King Soopers locations in our service area. This is a free service for the community.
The program is designed to collect NON-CONTROLLED substances only. This is a great opportunity to provide educational information to the public to ensure the proper disposal of controlled substances (narcotics and infections waste). Medication should never be dumped down the drain or flushed. Medication should be removed from their original containers, mixed with an undesirable substance such as kitty litter or coffee grounds then disposed of with household trash.
CDOT Works to Minimize Water Quality Impacts
The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) has worked hard to adopt best management practices to minimize water quality impacts from its projects. The power point presentation used at the January 27, 2010 board meeting, describes some of the water quality control aspects of projects in the Chatfield basin. CDOT estimates they prevented 36 tons of sediment from getting into Plum Creek and Chatfield Reservoir in 2009 alone. For more information on CDOT’s efforts and to report any potential problems, please contact CDOT Region 1, East Program Engineer, Ms. Carrie DeJiacomo, PE, at Carrie.DeJiacomo@dot.state.co.us.
A important news topic is the increasing cost for constructing and maintaining water and wastewater treatment infrastructure. On this page you’ll find several articles addressing the issue. The Water Funding Needs document includes excerpts from recent activities and some of the other documents on this page. Estimation of Costs of Phosphorus Removal is a technical study of the cost of removing additional phosphorus from effluent streams under several different scenarios. A Call to Action is a speech given by G. Tracy Mehan, III, former EPA Director, at the Sustainable Infrastructure Conference on April 30-May 1, 2007, in Groton Connecticut. More news articles will be added as available and appropriate.
PBS has aired the Frontline Special ‘Poisoned Waters’. While the Chatfield Watershed Authority does not endorse the findings of the program, it raises interesting questions and presents technical issues in an easily understood format. We encourage anyone interested in the complex issue of protecting water quality to watch this entertaining program. Read More
The Castle Rock Town Council has sent a letter to Mr. Steve Gunderson of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment regarding recent changes to the standards in Chatfield Reservoir. The letter describes the Town Council’s concerns with the changes including:
- Inappropriate water quality priorities;
- Unfunded mandates; and
- The focus on point sources when most of the pollutants are from nonpoint sources.
Hazards in the Water - by David Olinger
Characterizing Chlorophyll Distributions in Colorado Lakes
Pueblo Chieftain - Zebra mussel cousins pop up at Lake Granby
Estimation of Costs Phosphorus Removal
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