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 $13 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.  Also, E-bill customers assume the responsbility for receiving their bill via the internet.  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.