Telluride STEP manages wastewater for a growing population and ski resort
Surrounded by vast craggy peaks and waterfalls, the town of Telluride, Colorado is home to a population of approximately 2,473 people. The city is located in a small canyon in southwest Colorado, located along the San Miguel River.
Known for its all-season seaside resort, Telluride’s daytime population is somewhere closer to 7,000 people and may even eclipse 20,000 people during ski and festival seasons. Snowshoes and skis aside, the city is also home to three water treatment plants and a sewage treatment plant.
Seasonal flows and swings
The Telluride Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) serves the region and includes the town of Mountain Village, a ski area, which owns 35% of the facility. The facility also serves the wastewater treatment needs of Aldasoro Ranch, Lawson Hill, Hillside Subdivision, Sunset Ridge Subdivision and Eider Creek Subdivision.
Built in 1986, the WWTP is an aerobic secondary treatment facility designed for 2 million gallons of water per day (mgd), but during peak season it treats approximately 1 mgd. For comparison, two other water treatment plants at Telluride, Mill Creek and Pandora WTP both have capacities of 1 mgd.
Katie Doody, head of Telluride’s water and wastewater division, received her environmental engineering degree from the US Military Academy. She graduated from the academy as an engineer officer for the army for six years and wanted to try her hand at the civilian world. She landed a position of Division Manager for the Telluride Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant along with the city’s other water facilities.
Doody’s predecessor, Bill Goldsworthy, served as the city’s water and wastewater superintendent for more than 40 years until 2020, when Doody took over. The establishment has a few laboratory operators with over 20 years of experience. In total, the Telluride WWTP has a team of nine people.
With a busy ski season in the winter and an energetic festival season in the summer, spring and fall are the low seasons for the plant.
“It’s actually a challenge to make it work,†Doody said. “How do you prepare for a bug attack or an attack?
used waters? “
Given its location, the altitude has an impact on the processing process of the plant. This presents a number of challenges due to the extreme weather conditions in high altitude regions, including: strong solar radiation, large temperature variations from day to night, thin air, and low oxygen pressure. .
The wastewater treatment process itself is simple. From the raw station, the plant pumps water into the headworks, which flows through the primary clarifiers and from there to the aerobic ditches. At this point, the water undergoes secondary treatment, ultraviolet (UV) disinfection, and final effluent discharge into the San Miguel River.
Climate change and water flow
According to data from the Colorado Natural Resources Conservation Service, southwestern Colorado faces dry conditions with a snowpack measured in the combined watersheds of the San Miguel, Dolores, Animas and San Juan rivers at 87% of the normal.
“We’re in a constant drought,†Doody noted of San Miguel County. “Making sure that we have and maintain good water conservation and that we are doing absolutely everything we can to produce the best effluent to help the rest of the river.
As Telluride grapples with cold weather, altitude and a growing population, the processing facility often wonders how a limited amount of space can still create room for plant upgrades.
In 2016, the state of Colorado adopted more stringent nutrient and metal limit requirements.
“We had to start planning our upgrades, because at that time an 80s factory, although it works well for the regulations we have now, [it] has not been identified to maintain what the state and what the EPA wants, â€Doody added. “It’s about troubleshooting and managing old technology while trying to maintain [the plant], because we know a fix is ​​coming, so how do we deal with emergencies? “
For example, in August 2020, there was a lightning strike over the factory’s raw lifting station, so the team worked to fix it and get new meters. Making sure the team was doing their due diligence for the public and the river was essential, while ensuring that the solution to this unexpected problem was economical.
According to Doody, there will be a full upgrade of the Telluride Regional Sewage Plant Plant over the next five years to proactively address infrastructure issues related to aging equipment. Some of these improvements may include better bar screens for removing large items, such as rags and plastics. There is also potential for membrane bioreactors.
The goal is to complete these upgrades by 2025 or 2026 at the latest, which also aim to address water efficiency and water recycling opportunities.
