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TWC Tucson
Water Company a community owned and volunteer operated
non-profit corporation since 1990 |
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Dave Grandlienard |
To: People of Tucson Estates, Henderson,
CO
Subject: Irrigation Water System Status Report - October 2004
Dear neighbors, co-owners and customers:
Our second year
of irrigation water restrictions ended on October 1st. These same restrictions will resume on
The new
irrigation well (#421-R-R)
on
The
Little Well That Could... In the first year of operation our new
$40,000 well started off producing just 40 gallons per minute of the expected
150 gpm. But, by the middle of the summer production was up to almost 70
gpm. In total, this one well produced
about 7 million gallons (21 acre-feet) during the 6-month season. The electric bill alone was about $1500 for
18,000 kwh. This is about 80 times
higher than the cost of using 480v 3 phase power available at the old
well. Some of the production increase
came from tuning the VFD motor controller and some from a rising Static Water
Level (SWL increased about 1 foot).
Augmentation
Water... The
right to pump our irrigation wells comes by having augmentation water to
replace our out of priority diversions.
The Central Colorado Water Conservancy District (CCWCD) provides this
for us. You will see two of their tax
items on the ballot when and if you vote; they are the last two items on the
ballot. If we lose our CCWCD water we
are really screwed. Their court case
including our augmentation water is next May.
Another company, GASP, augmented most of the surrounding irrigation
wells and they went under during 2002.
Most of these well owners lost their ability to pump in 2003. Our neighbors in
Our
Old Irrigation well... The SWL at the old well has risen more
that 2 feet since the water storage construction project stopped pumping into
the ski lake last fall. A very good sign.
We still have 3-4 feet to go to return to normal. If this happens our new well should also
recover SWL and gain even more production capacity (the pump and motor can run
all the way up to the 150 gpm we are decreed).
We do not have the SWL or automatic controls needed at the old well to
run the larger pump yet. We do not have
the resources to bring a civil suit and prove material injury to our senior
water rights then recover damages.
Nor the resource to add a VFD motor controller to one or both of the old well’s pump/motors. I wish we did. If there is anyone with some deep pockets or free attorneys, please give me a call. :-)
Co-Operating the 3
Irrigation Well Pumps...
Lacking the SWL or VFD needed to run the largest papa sized well
pump (used in the glory days of unlimited water for $10/month) we ran the new
smaller baby sized well pump as the primary and used the older well’s mama
sized pump as the secondary. This
minimized the cycling of the medium sized pump – lest we burn it out.
Therefore, in 2004 we actually pumped less water from the old well using the
mama sized pump, about 4.5 million gallons or 14 acre-feet, than the new well
(7-MG/21-AF) with its more expensive operating costs. Hopefully, the SWL will continue to rise
during the winter months and then maybe... the board of directors can ease the
schedule restrictions for 2005, if we can find a way to co-operate the pumps
and agree on a fair schedule change acceptable to most, if not all, of the
homeowners.
Water Meters... CCWCD
has notified us that everyone will be required to meter their augmented wells
in 2005. Our new well has an $800 meter that started sticking after one month
(B.S.). The old well has no meter at all
and no room to add one. The 4.5MG above for the old well is an estimate using
electric consumption (KWH) records for the new and old wells. We will have to work with CCWCD to install a
new meter outside the underground pumphouse on
Most of the individual
irrigation meters at our property probably do not work. The company has a hard time simply getting
the domestic meters read timely and accurately, much less maintained. So please
thank your volunteer meter readers when you see them!
All of our individual
water meters need to be replaced on a regular basis (10-15 years). Some are unreadable, too low, corroded, sand
blocked, and/or their pits are collapsing.
At the time the company was created in 1990, the individual meters and
meter pits remained the property of the homeowners. They are their responsibility and NOT the
water company’s. In the past, the board
has provided new meters and new PVC pits to anyone who needed to replace them
but no board has proactively managed the meter problem. I have nagged the various boards about this
over the years. In the future, if we
cannot find a way to replace and maintain all of our meters on a volunteer
basis the board may be forced to take the responsibility from the homeowners
and bill them for it (it won’t be cheap).
I suggest that this be discussed at next years annual meeting. Meters are about $35-$50 and new pits are
about $20-$40. For safety reasons, the industry is changing to new backflow
prevention meters and electronic remotely read meters that cost more. Often it’s a lot of work to dig out and raise
or replace a meter or pit... that’s why it hasn’t been done. Also, it’s
difficult to confront and demand maintenance from a homeowner when it may be
contentious or costly... and there are always more important tasks at hand.
(Any volunteers?)
What
is fair... Most of us became water pigs before 2003 when it
was cheap and unlimited. Most have been
understanding and supportive of the rate increases and restrictions since that
time. Overall, people have followed the
restrictions, paid their bills on time, and not tried to cheat their neighbors. We have a scheduling system that gives
everyone more or less the same amount of time to water and hopefully we may be
able to increase the scheduled time in the future. However, that does not mean the system is
fair. There are 43,560 sq.ft. in an acre. Some homes water 35,000 sq.ft.
and others less than 5,000 sq.ft. A
fairer system would probably have everyone pay for what they actually use; but
that probably means maintaining irrigation meters when we aren’t doing a very
good job with our domestic meters. Some
of our homeowners spend many hours “volunteering” their time to make this
company run. Others, though willing to help, don’t have the time or skills to
do so. Don’t get out the violins
yet. Life isn’t fair and we all probably
take things for granted that we shouldn’t.
Like living in the greatest country on earth.
I
may as well fill up one more page... so that the back of
the “Protect Your Meter Pits from Freezing” figure enclosed does not have to
get mailed out blank.
Money,
Money, Money... Our first priority is always the drinking
water supply and quality. That’s why the
first major expense of our new 2-year-old company, done with a bank loan, was
about $20,000 to bring a second drinking water well online, into the
Laramie-Fox Hills aquifer. A few years
later the loan was paid off and we spent another $20,000 (with the help of
Henderson Elementary, 27-J) to bring our 1st irrigation well
online. When our bank account was full
in 1999-2000 the board of directors decided to start paying to have some of the
“volunteer” work we needed done. This
didn’t last long because shortly after getting “labor only” bids for the first
job we paid a neighbor to do, $3500 for about 3 days work to install a 500’
drainage line for well testing and maintenance, we discovered our primary
drinking well was sucking air. It then
cost us $20,000 to video, acid rehab, reset and lower a new pump into that
well. We then used the new $4500
drainage line to develop the rehabilitated Arapahoe well before returning it to
service. We would do it all over again
because that is highest priority. Since
that time, other than paying out small amounts for labor and giving out gift
certificates there have been no significant payments to any neighbor, except
me. From May 2003 until April 2004 I
logged 600 hours on the new irrigation well and was paid a total of $3000 over
a 6-month period from the $40,000 cost of installing the community’s 2nd
irrigation well. I estimate that we
saved over $25,000 in donated labor and discounted material on that project
alone. Former resident Dennis Irvine, and others, saved us over $25,000
spending an entire year fixing leaks and bringing our irrigation system
online. My nearby neighbors, other contractors
in the neighborhood and their relations have saved us at least another $25,000
over the years on numerous construction and repair projects that few people
know anything about. Now Johnie Vaughn,
who discounted our new well’s concrete vault by $4000, is preparing to spend
tens of thousands on legal and engineering fees for an augmentation plan that
we may be allowed to participate in at little or no cost to us.
What’s
the point... We
have a good thing going here. When we
cooperate and help each other we all benefit.
We are no longer a “one well company” serving 20 homes from a bankrupt
land developer. Our property values have
doubled and tripled in the past 15-20 years.
We operate 4 wells and 2 pressurized distribution systems for 36 homes
plus the elementary school. We are a
public utility and an incorporated
“We” - are all of us. If you want to
help, have a question, suggestions, or just want to talk please contact a board
member or corporate officer.
David H.
Grandlienard
Tucson Water Company, Inc.
CDPHE – Operator in Responsible Charge (ORC)
Drinking
Water Class C #2912
Distribution Class 1 #10578
Protect
your Meter Pits from Freezing
Every
year we lose one or more water meters from freezing.
A single frozen meter can cause a water supply shutdown for everyone.
Follow
steps #1 and #2 below:
