BOARD OF DIRECTORS

The Board welcomed and swore in Bill George as the newest director at their May Board meeting. 

Dale Schendzielos was re-elected to office for a second term, and the Board held elections for officers at the May meeting.

Your new Board of Directors are:

 Dennis Daugherty,

President

487-1715

Tim Murphy

Vice-President

488-6737

Dale Schendzielos,

Sec/Treasurer

488-2852

Dick Durham

488-2884

Bill George

487-2985

ELECTION JUDGES

Our many thanks to Linda Parobek and Charles Grundmann who worked so diligently as Election Judges during the election on May 6th.  They kept up with the paperwork process and made it a smooth and correct election – NO hanging chads or dangling participles.  Thanks again! You provided a great service to the community. 

A special thanks to Ed Houle, who served on the Board of Directors for 8 years, President for the last four.  Your leadership and guidance was critical during these important times, Ed.  Thanks from all of Donala’s constituents. 

Rationing Program Started

May 26^th

and Runs Through September 1^st

As announced in last month’s newsletter, the irrigation-rationing program is in full swing.  If you have doubts as to when you can water, check out the District website at www.donalawater.org and link the “Water Rationing” button, or call us at 488-3603.

IRRIGATION PRACTICES

vs.

WATER BILLS

Every year about this time, many of us experience “sticker shock” upon receiving our water bill from the first month of lawn watering.  It’s also about now that I notice a lot of systems watering the street, or the neighbor’s lawn and watering at 2 o’clock in the afternoon.

When you crank up your system each year, I highly recommend checking it out.  Cycle through all the zones and be sure the heads are pointed where you want them.  It might be a good idea to have a professional come and check it out for you, at least every couple of years or so.

A recent article in the “Denver Post” outlined a few hints for knowing when and how much to water, as well as some general lawn maintenance tips.

First, off, if you haven’t already, consider having your lawn aerated.  It allows air, fertilizer and water to get to the roots and loosens packed ground.

Secondly, lawns do best when fertilized in the spring and fall.  Using the slow release pellets and the type of spreader recommended by the fertilizer maker provides the best results.

Don’t cut your grass shorter than 2 ½ inches and cut it often to keep it near that length.  That allows water to get down to the roots and yet not burn off before doing any good.

Lawns should be watered about ½ inch at a time.  How often depends on when the last time it rained or was watered.  One method of telling when to water is to stick a screwdriver in the lawn.  If the dampness you feel on the blade is deep enough to get to the roots you’re doing OK.

I don’t know about you, but when I feel a steel screwdriver tip it is usually cold and not easily discernable as wet.  So the method I use is the footprint.  If when you walk on the lawn your footprint stays there, you need to water.  If the grass bounces right back up, you’re probably OK.

A rather unique method is the tuna can measurement.  Place an empty tuna can (even 5 or 6) around your lawn.  Half a can of water twice a week in the early season is enough.  Increase to ¾ of a can in June, July, and August.  A basic rain gauge will obviously work as well.  However, if you don’t have one, and you like tuna salad, it’s a good excuse to open a few cans.  A word of warning though – wash the cans thoroughly first or you may have to adopt the neighborhood cats.

The bottom line is your lawn can get by with a lot less water than you might think if you keep up with it.  However, if you neglect it and then try to bring it back later, you will end up using a lot more water.

PHARMACEUTICALS AND PERSONAL CARE PRODUCTS (PPCPs) IN THE WATER

There has been significant press lately about the hazards of pharmaceuticals and personal care products found in wastewater streams, and the logical threat of “contamination” of water supplies in systems that use the streams as their source water.   The article in the “Gazette” several weeks ago went so far as to say that PPCPs were even found in deep well water.  Unfortunately, they did not define “deep”, and even though we were confident our Denver Basin water from 700’ to 2200’ deep was PPCP free, we had the water tested to be sure.  As we expected, of the 88 constituents tested for, none were detected. 

We also took a sample of the Monument Creek water just downstream from our wastewater plant.  The results showed a significant stream of painkillers, anti-biotics, anti-depressants and steroids, as well as PPCPs in our wastewater.

We discussed this issue and how to properly dispose of old medications and personal care products.  Refer to the April Newsletter on the District website.  The bottom line is when in doubt – don’t flush it!

The jury is out on the hazards to humans from PPCPs.  If indeed aquatic life is being affected by these endocrine disruptors, it stands to reason that they could affect humans as well.  But let’s face it, before these products got into a waste stream where they are highly diluted and mixed with other constituents, they were used directly in or on our bodies in their original strength as drugs, cosmetics and other products.  It just makes sense that if they were going to affect us in a detrimental way, they would have done so in their original form.

CONSOLIDATION WITH ACADEMY

You probably read in “Our Community News” that the discussions with the Academy Water and Sanitation District (Pleasant View) to eventually merge our operations are on hold, if not terminated.  The original plan called for Academy to remain on the books as a district for another 7-10 years while their debt was retired.  Then they would dissolve and their customers would annex to Donala.  In the meantime, we would help finance Academy’s hook up to our water and sewer system, and the closure of their waste plant.  The reimbursement to Donala for our funding would extend the life of their “debt” beyond the original seven years to 9 or 10.  All that was with our speculation that Donala would continue working on our joint long range water supply plan, but probably not have to spend any large amounts of money for another 5-10 years.

As it turns out, Donala will be very likely faced with some significant bills in the near future to initiate the solution to the long-range water issues.  Donala taxpayers pay a mill levy that helps fund such projects.  However, as long as Academy W&S District stays in business, their 300 taxpayers pay a mill levy to Academy – not to Donala, and they in effect would get a “free ride” for that 7-10 year period.  We are not prepared to put that onus on our taxpayers.

In the meantime, if the Academy Board and customers want to enter into a service agreement, whereby Donala affords the water and/or wastewater service, and they (Academy) finance the infrastructure, and pay a rate at least commensurate with what Donala customer pay in rates and taxes, the Donala Board will consider it.