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1. I see growth all around us. How can we support
such growth with our water supply?
Answer: Most
of the growth you see around us is to our north in the Triview
Metropolitan District and the Town of Monument. Donala itself is
close to “built out.” As of July, 2007 there are 10 homes
under construction and only another couple of dozen “lots” left in
the Paradise Villas Townhomes. The only other available development
yet to come is some commercial areas along Struthers Road, and the
Brown Ranch, to the northeast of Fox Run Park. Due to the water
supply, we will restrict the Brown Ranch to 66 patio homes and 30 2
½ acre lots. We have no control over the growth to our north, but
we are working with them to solve our collective water issues.
2. So what is the status of our water supply?
Answer: The District’s water supply is the Denver Basin system
of deep aquifers. The water rights are based on legal
appropriations that go with the property within our borders.
The “real water” is a “soft” figure that will vary by location and
by overall demand on the aquifers. We have a pretty good idea
of the available water beneath us. The unknown is how long it
will last due to total pull on the system. Even the best
hydrologists and geologists cannot give us a good answer. For
that reason the District is actively involved in seeking a renewable
source of water. We are confident we will have it before we
need it.
3. The City of Colorado Springs and Denver
are rationing water. We must do our part to help.
Answer: Although
we all have a Colorado Springs address, we are not in the City and
not served by the City’s water supply. Theirs is a “renewable”
snowmelt supply that is affected by drought conditions (witness
their rationing program of 2002-2004). Our current supply is the
Denver Basin of deep aquifers. It is not affected by drought, other
than the increased demand when it doesn’t rain. However, The Basin
is a depleting source, and because of the increased demand in the
local area, we have imposed rationing restrictions.
4. I see your crews blowing water out of fire hydrants
periodically. Isn’t that a waste of water?
Answer: We flush the distribution system every Spring just
before high demand hits us by blowing out the hydrants. This
gets rid of the iron sediment that may have settled in the pipes
over the winter and also ensures that chlorine is available
throughout. If we don’t flush, when the high demand basically
does the same thing, the iron sediment gets into the homes and
creates “rusty” white laundry. It is also a good check that
the hydrants work properly, something important to all homeowners in
the event of a fire.
5. What is the $11 service fee on my bill for?
Answer: The service fee is a minimum monthly charge to
help us pay our expenses that are always there. Although we
certainly have more expenses during peak watering months, many of
our expenses go year around. Legal fees, engineering,
salaries, insurance, etc. -- all of these expenses persist whether
our customers pay a high rate for usage or a low rate in the winter.
We are a governmental, not-for-profit entity, and we must cover our
expenses. The monthly service fee helps us do that.
6. I didn’t run my sprinkler system all month. How
could I possibly have used so much water?
Answer: The usual culprit in a house with a high water
bill is a leaking toilet. A toilet can run up to five gallons
a minute. Gone unchecked, that is 216,000 gallons a month.
At today’s rates that’s a water bill of over $900 for usage alone.
Another possibility could be a leak in the sprinkler system itself.
To test your system take a look at your meter. It is normally
near your hot water heater. It has a black cover over a dial,
situated on a black plastic or bronze bodied meter. Lift the
cover over the dial and look for the small cog wheel. If it is
turning, there is water running somewhere in your system.
7. How do I know it’s not your meter that’s wrong?
Anything mechanical can be in error.
Answer: That’s true. However, because the meter
functions only when water passes through it, it can’t read more than
that. In fact, over time or when they malfunction, the meter
will always read in the customer’s favor – either by not reading at
all when water passes through, or by reading at a lower rate.
8. I had a leaking toilet and it took me a while to find
it. Do I have to pay for all that water?
Answer: The current District policy is that water that
passes through the meter must be accounted for. We will
normally work out a time payment plan however. Just call our
office.
9. I didn’t get my bill last month. Do I still have
to pay it by the 20th?
Answer: Unfortunately
we cannot control the U.S. Postal Service or the vandalism that
often occurs in the neighborhood. You should know that you
will incur a water/sewer bill every month. If you don’t see it
by the 10th
of the month, give us a call. If indeed there was a problem
with the mail service or other issues, we will work with you for a
payment plan. Just call us.
10. What is the gray, flaky residue on my faucets and
shower head?
Answer:
Calcium. Our water is on the “hard”
side and hardness manifests itself as calcium carbonate. It
usually shows up in homes with hot tubs, or where one of the latest
“super duper” water heaters are installed – the kind that stay very
hot and give instant hot water. We suggest you turn the hot
water heater down a bit. It doesn’t have to be scalding hot to
satisfy most functions. Many of our customers have installed
water softeners in their systems – either to get rid of the calcium
problem or just because they like softer water. You can buy
softeners fairly inexpensively at most of the big home supply
stores.
11. Why does my water sometimes turn red or muddy looking?
It makes my white laundry rusty looking.
Answer: That is iron coming out of solution. We have
iron and manganese as natural minerals in our water source. We
treat for them and remove over 99%. However, that 1% of iron
can come out of solution when the demand is suddenly high (see our
answer to the hydrant flushing question above), or even in hot
water. If your system has been sitting dormant for a period of
time (vacation, etc.), or if you happen to live at the end of a dead
end line (cul-de-sac, etc.), you could get iron coming out of
solution in your pipes. We try to keep up with the dead end
lines by flushing them more often. You might want to purge
your hot water heater periodically (see the instructions), and run
your system for a while to clean up the water before doing any white
laundry. If the problem persists, call us.
12. What’s with the water pressure? All of a sudden
I don’t have any, OR; all of a sudden it’s very high.
Answer: Very seldom do we experience pressure fluctuations
within our distribution system. When we do, every house will
feel it, and it will be due to a main break or an excessive use from
a fire hydrant. Pressure problems within individual homes
usually come from the house pressure regulator. It’s the
conical shaped device that is on your plumbing. Hopefully you
have one prior to the meter. Some of the older homes have
theirs downstream of the meter. Many will have another
one downstream of the off-shoot to the irrigation system. They
come off the shelf set at between 55 and 65 psi. That’s a good
pressure for your household system. When the regulators fail
they do so in one of three ways – they close down and you have no
pressure, they open up and you have very high pressure, or they
pulsate. Regardless, they need to be replaced. You can
do it yourself or have a plumber do it for you. Be sure to get
the same type or at least the same size regulator so that it fits in
the space in the piping.
13. What
is the ET rate referred to on the weather page of the website, and
how do I use it?
Answer: ET stands
for evapotranspiration. It is the combination of two processes
whereby water is lost from the soil-evaporation into the air, and
transpiration through plants. ET is calculated by measuring
solar radiation, temperature, and humidity and is figured for a crop
that is well watered and managed. The reference crops are
either grass or alfalfa - either works well for our climate.
Use ET by applying the amount of
irrigation water called for on the chart for that day. For
example: an ET of 0.25 means the recommendation is one quarter
inch of water. Unfortunately, the system does not take into
account what may have happened the day before, and in fact,
depending on when you are reading it, may not be accurate indicator
for that day. If you read the ET at 6 a.m. in the morning it
may still be low due to temperature, since it is measuring since
midnight. A very dry day to follow will likely indicate a
higher ET, and if you don't read the chart again after it's been hot
and dry, you won't get a good recommendation. More
importantly, it may have rained hard the day before, but the ET for
today will not account for the rain yesterday. That's why we
recommend using the 3-day ET chart on our website weather page.
Use a three day average to determine your watering schedule.
14. What
is the ET rate....
Add to the
answer:
The District is now providing the ET Manager, a
weather based irrigation controller that takes all the inputs to the
ET conversion into account, as well as soil conditions and other
factors, and automatically runs your irrigation program for you.
See the “Water Rationing” page for more information.
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