WATER DEPARTMENT

Shop location: 577 Elm Road, Estes Park, CO 80517

for after-hours water emergencies, please call: 970-586-4000
 

To set up a Utility account with the Town of Estes Park, please call Utility Billing at: 970-586-5331

Water Department Staff

ABOUT THE WATER DEPARTMENT

ANNUAL WATER QUALITY REPORT

CROSS-CONNECTION/BACKFLOW CONTROL PROGRAM

WATER CONSERVATION

WATER DEPARTMENT STAFF

WATER RATE INCREASE ARTICLE 2008 - 2010

WATER RATE SHEET 2008 - 2010
WATER SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT CHARGES AND WATER RIGHTS FEES DECEMBER 2007
WATER TREATMENT FACILITIES EVALUATION

WINDY GAP RESERVOIR
 

ABOUT THE WATER DEPARTMENT

More than 4,200 customers are served by the Town of Estes Park's Water Department. The department's coverage area is bordered by the east edge of town, the turn-in to Eagle Rock School on Dry Gulch Road, McCreery Lane on Devil's Gulch Road, the southwest side of Carriage Hills off Highway 7, the Fish Hatchery area off of Fall River Road, and the YMCA border on Spur 66. Each of those customers resides below the "blue line" elevation of 7,580 feet.

A staff of eight maintains more than 100 miles of pipelines and nearly 500 fire hydrants. The Water Department currently operates with a capacity of 3 million gallons per day, with the ability to produce an additional 1 million gallons per day. All Town water receives full chemical treatment and filtration, with the water disinfected and adjusted for pH.

Tap fees for an average single-family residence are $7,240 within town limits, plus $75 for materials/labor and $275 for the meter. The costs increase by $21 (filing fees) for those outside town limits. In addition, potential customers residing in the county must be members of the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District.  To learn more about the history of the NCWCD and the Colorado-Big Thompson Project, check out the district's web site at www.ncwcd.org. This comprehensive site also includes information about water conservation, irrigation tips, weather records and much more.

To learn more about the quality of Estes Park's drinking water, be sure to read the 2008 Consumer Confidence Report.

Click here to read the Town of Estes Park's Annual Water Quality Report.

CROSS-CONNECTION/BACKFLOW CONTROL PROGRAM

The Town of Estes Park Water Department is committed to providing quality, safe drinking water to the residents and visitors who come here. Recognizing that health and well-being are important and directly related to good water, water quality is monitored closely from the time water first enters the treatment plants to the time it exits your water faucet. It is for these reasons the Water Department has implemented the Cross-Connection and Backflow Control Program. 

Backflow Installers:  It is required to follow approved guidelines for all installations. Click here for a printable version.

Backflow testers: this is the approved form for testing and maintenance of backflow devices.  Click here for an Excel version that can be filled out on your computer; click here for a .pdf version that can be downloaded and printed.  

Questions to ask yourself:

1.  Is your property a commercial property?

2.  Do you have a business that you operate out of your home? 

3.  Do you have an irrigation system or are you planning to install an irrigation

     system?

4.  Do you have at your residence a photo lab or hobbies that include:

     chemicals, gases, radiological, biological or other contaminants or pollutants?

5.  Do you have pumps attached to the potable water supply at your residence?

     (This includes pumps attached to wells.)

If you are supplied water by the Town of Estes Park and have answered “yes” to any of the above questions, or simply do not know, please contact the Cross-Connection Control Specialist at 970-577-3625. We will be glad to help.

Illustration A

WATER CONSERVATION

In mid-2003, the Town of Estes Park  adopted a Water Conservation Plan that includes voluntary and mandatory measures to ensure the integrity of the Town’s water supply.

At the Stage I level (normal water conditions), all reductions in water use are voluntary measures, intended as tools for increasing the community’s awareness, rather than imposing restrictions.  It is only in Stages II and III that restrictions become mandatory in nature.

The Town obtains its water supply from the Colorado-Big Thompson (CBT) project and Glacier Creek.  These sources are directly connected to the Town’s treatment plants and do not include raw water storage.  The recent drought has increased sensitivity toward our water sources and the drought’s impact upon them. 

The newly constructed Mary's Lake Raw Water Pump Station will play an important role in supplying the Town of Estes Park with water should severe drought conditions drastically limit available supplies.  Construction on the Mary’s Lake Raw Water Pump Project began in February of 2003 to coincide with the Bureau of Reclamation’s annual March draw-down of the lake. The pump station became operational in June.

This $670,000 project was designed and constructed to provide an alternate source of potable water for the Town during maintenance of the Adams Tunnel. This maintenance takes place two to three times each year. In addition, the pump will ensure dependable water supplies during drought years when the remote possibility exists that the tunnel may become dry due to a lack of water in the Colorado-Big Thompson reservoir system located west of the Continental Divide.

The project consists of a 30-foot deep, 12-foot-diameter pump station at the west end of Mary’s Lake. The system utilizes two 88-horsepower submersible pumps capable of generating 1,400 gallons of water per minute.  The pump station’s operation can be controlled either manually or remotely via electric and SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) controls, with data from the plant used to control the pump system.

Water Conservation Stages

Town staff has defined three water conservation stages that are triggered by the availability of water resources. These stages are as follows:

Stage I  This is the normal mode of operation. Voluntary water conservation measures are suggested to encourage prudent water use, but none are mandated.

Stage II  This stage is triggered by the loss of one of the water supply sources and a likely reduction in the other supply source.  Mandatory water restrictions are in effect to reduce water demands. Water rates are increased to recover the same amount of revenue as existing rates recover under Stage I conditions.

Stage III  This stage is triggered by the loss of both water supply sources. Severe water restrictions are in effect and water rates are drastically increased to recover same amount of revenue as existing rates recover under Stage I conditions and to penalize unnecessary water usage.

Water Conservation Measures

Stage I  Voluntary conservation measures are included in this stage to embed water efficiency programs into the fabric of the community and achieve permanent reductions in per capita water use.  Long-term water demand management programs include both structural and non-structural measures.

Structural Measures: Structural controls are “built into” each individual home or business and do not require a daily, conscious effort on the part of the consumer to save water.  Examples of such devices include such easily installed items as low-flow shower heads, water faucet aerators and toilet tank banks.

Non-Structural Measures: Non-structural controls include public education, pricing systems, and enforcement of restrictions that are imposed during drought periods.

Stage II  Immediate action is necessary in Stage II to reduce water demands. The Town’s primary tool for achieving short-term reductions in water use is to declare that Stage II conditions exist and to enact restrictions to reduce water consumption until adequate supplies are available.  The goal of the restrictions is to assure that water is continuously available to all customers for minimal irrigation and essential uses that protect the health, safety and welfare of the public.

Individuals can make a difference during periods of drought simply by improving conservation habits. Here are some simple ideas:

·         Bathroom. Turn off water while brushing teeth and shaving. Do not use toilets as waste baskets. Bathe using half-full tubs and take shorter showers.

·         Kitchen. Store drinking water in the refrigerator and run the dishwasher only when full.

·         Laundry. Purchase high-efficiency appliances and wash full loads of laundry.

·         Voluntary Watering Days and Watering Hours of the Day.  Adhere to the Town’s suggested voluntary watering schedule.

·         Open Hoses. Only use hoses without shutoff valves for deep watering of trees,                  bushes, flowers and gardens.

·         Hose Shutoff Valves. Equip hoses with shutoff valves that require hand pressure to open.

·         Exterior cleaning.  Sweep patios, sidewalks, driveways, and other hard exterior surfaces before the final spray of water is applied, if needed.

·         Car Washing. Use spray from a hose equipped with a shutoff valve and/or a bucket of water to wash car. 

	The Town of Estes Park is one of the owners of Windy Gap Reservoir.