Valley Courier file photo Left, Alamosa Public Works Director Don Koskelin and Mayor Pro Tem Kathy Rogers announce the confirmed salmonella outbreak in the city earlier this year. Municipal officials want to ensure something like that does not happen again in the community.

Contamination controls sought



By RUTH HEIDE

ALAMOSA — Although cross connections were not determined to be the source of the salmonella outbreak in Alamosa this spring, city officials are taking measures to make sure cross connection backflow situations will not create city water contamination problems in the future.

The city council will consider for adoption in its October 1 meeting an ordinance governing cross connections to prevent backflow and protect the city’s water supply. The council will first hold a public hearing on the evening of October 1.

Cross connections was one of the theories surrounding the source of the salmonella outbreak this spring. The most probable source of the contamination was later suspected to be the Weber reservoir which has been taken out of service for potable water purposes.

This spring Alamosa Public Works Director Don Koskelin and state health department officials began working with local businesses and other water users to make sure they installed backflow prevention devices to prevent water from going back into the public water system. Such devices were required already in state and federal regulations but the City of Alamosa did not have the means to enforce those regulations.

The ordinance proposed to be adopted on October 1 will implement the means to enforce existing state and federal regulations. During the salmonella aftermath the state recommended that the city adopt an ordinance like this.

During the council’s meeting on Wednesday City Manager Nathan Cherpeski said, “It is a requirement of law. This gives us authority to do the things we need to.”

He said the ordinance was patterned after a model provided by the state.

Cherpeski explained that a good example of a cross connection would be ice machines where the hoses are not hooked up properly.

When city staff began evaluating possible contamination areas this spring Koskelin had a list of 140 cross connection risk areas with the highest risk being businesses such as mortuaries, hospitals and wholesale meat processing and medium risk including restaurants, car washes and laundry facilities. Koskelin also had a list of 22 low-priority establishments.

At the time Koskelin said the city would focus on containment first and then potential cross connections within buildings themselves.

Cherpeski told the council this week there were some potential cross connections but these situations were not ones where water and sewer lines were getting crossed up.

Alamosa Mayor Farris Bervig said the city council plans to allocate additional money in the 2009 budget to pay for staff to implement and enforce the new ordinance.

Cherpeski said the city would have to bring someone on specifically for this type of work and may initially contract it out. “There are not many certified individuals in the Valley right now,” he said. “We have been pushing some of our crews to get trained.”

He said the city would concentrate first on high risk areas that have the potential to create problems. This effort would be ongoing, he said, as these systems have to be annually inspected.

Those not complying with the proposed ordinance would first be required to comply; next face water service suspension if an imminent health hazard existed; and ultimately could face prosecution in municipal court.

Also during the September 17 council meeting:

• An Amigo Net representative requested reconsideration of the city’s fees for antennas on city water towers because she said the fees were steep and out of line with what other cities charge. Cherpeski said when the city revised those fees staff reviewed what other cities were charging. He added that other users had agreed to the new fees.

• The council unanimously approved on first reading and scheduled for a public hearing on Oct. 1 an ordinance reducing the number of board members on the Historical Preservation Advisory Committee from seven to five. The committee currently has three members with two vacancies and two applications pending.

• The council approved a budget amendment to cover the replacement of the air conditioner in the computer room. Cherpeski said the computer room reached a temperature of 115 degrees when the air conditioner shut down in the middle of the night a few weeks ago. The computers also started shutting down. Cherpeski said the new water treatment plant had a new air conditioner that wound up being too small for that facility’s needs but would be perfect for the computer room.

• The council approved, with Councilor April Gonzales abstaining because the action involved her employer, a replat of a five-acre parcel owned by Trinidad State Junior College in the Sierra Vista Addition by Town & Country. TSJC Vice President Michael Maestas told the council the college plans to break two acres off of the parcel and give it to the Colorado State Patrol for its new headquarters. TSJC will retain the other three acres, he said.

• The council awarded a bid of $22,514 to Children’s Playstructures & Recreation for new playground equipment at Diamond Park. The money will come from the conservation trust fund. Heinz Bergann, parks and recreation director, told the council the playground equipment at Diamond Park dated to the 1970’s and 1980’s and needed to be replaced with safer equipment. He said the company was running a 30-percent discount special through the end of September on Playworld equipment, the type of equipment planned for Diamond Park. The equipment will incorporate a slide, monkey bars and other features.

• The council awarded a bid for $13,405 to Reis Environmental for self-contained breathing apparatus for the Alamosa Fire Department.

• The council agreed to give the city’s old phone system to La Puente.

• The council approved a contract regarding a lift station at Quarterhorse Acres.

• The council held a public hearing on the proposed location and name change of Pizza Den to Bistro Rialto which is relocating to the former Rialto Theatre site in downtown Alamosa. The council will make its decision on the liquor license related issue during its October 1 meeting. Restaurant owner Kent Holtcamp told the council the restaurant would continue to restrict its liquor service to beer and wine at the new location but would be able to offer a greater selection of wines because the restaurant will have more space. He said he hopes to reopen the restaurant at the new location under the new name in November.