From the Rifle Citizen Telegram (Nelson Harvey):
The project, which has been under discussion for more than six years, is motivated by the fact that the city’s Graham Mesa Water Treatment Plant is 32 years old and near the end of its useful life. The plant, city officials argue, can’t support Rifle’s growing population, or meet potential new federal water quality standards. Yet in opposing the project, [John Steele] has claimed the rate increases required to fund it would lead to a drastic drop in water demand, depriving the city of the revenue it needs to finance its loan.
Under the rate structure approved by City Council to fund the plant, water rates would rise by about 64 percent for those using up to 2,000 gallons a month, and roughly 99 percent for those using up to 4,000 gallons. Rate increases would be higher if voters do not approve a half cent sales tax increase to help fund the project. “No one has told me whether they can cover the loan with a 20 percent drop in water consumption,” said Steele, which he said could result from the rate hikes…
But City Manager John Hier, who helped design the new rate structure, said there is no way to tell how much demand would drop in response to higher water rates. His plan, he said, accounted for the fact that higher prices would prompt some consumers to use less water. “Whenever there is a rate increase, our engineers tell us you can expect a 3 to 5 percent drop in demand,” he said. “Of course, that depends on how large the increase is, but we were conservative in estimating the rates that would generate enough money to fund the new plant.” Hier said he didn’t know how much consumption would have to drop before the city would be unable to repay its loan.
More infrastructure coverage here.
From the Rifle Citizen Telegram (Mike McKibbin):
The city has decided to pursue a $25.5 million loan from the Colorado Water and Power Authority to fund the proposed plant, and to ask city voters to approve a half-cent sales tax to help keep water rates from more than doubling. The issue has been appealed by Rifle resident and former Silt mayor John Steele, who turned in a petition signed by 300 people in support of his action. At the Tuesday meeting, City Manager John Hier and Louis Meyer, a professional engineer with Schmueser Gordon Meyer, the city’s design consultant on the project, detailed the history and problems with the Graham Mesa water treatment plant and the smaller Divide Creek plant.
The Graham Mesa plant was built in 1982 and uses technology from the 1970s, Meyer said. That has led to a lack of replacement parts and “fabricating” different solutions to keep the plant operating and meet water quality standards, Hier said. Meyer said the plant has a 4.5 million gallons per day treatment capacity, and the city’s peak demand in 2009 was 4.41 million gallons a day. “You don’t want to ever push a plant that close to the limit,” Meyer said. “You get all kinds of operating problems because it’s such an old plant.”
Meanwhile, some Rifle citizens want a say in the new plant at the polls so they’ve delivered enough petition signatures to force a vote. Here’s a report from Jenny Lavey writing for the Rifle Citizen Telegram. From the article:
John Steele, a 12-year Rifle resident and former mayor of Silt, submitted a petition to place a question on this November’s general election ballot regarding city council’s recent approval of a $25.5 million loan for construction of a new water treatment plant. The petition was submitted to City Clerk Lisa Cain on Monday, April 30, and requests council either rescind or review their decision authorizing the loan amount, which in turn would increase the rate of Rifle water users to repay the loan.
Additionally, the loan would require a public vote for a half-cent sales tax hike for the city to be able to keep up with operation costs of the new plant. “It was phenomenally hard work, but very enlightening,” Steele said of gathering the signatures.
Cain must now verify every signature on the petition is that of a Rifle resident and registered voter, then notify Steele of by mail if his petition was accepted or denied. As of press time, Cain said she was reviewing the petition in accordance with the city charter and state statutes.
Legally, Steele had to collect at least 265 signatures of registered voters living in Rifle city limits by April 30. The petition had to be received by Cain 10 days after publication of the ordinance, which was done on April 20, according to Steele.
More water treatment coverage here.
From the Rifle Citizen Telegram (John Gardner):
The Rifle City Council has agreed to move forward with construction of a new $25 million water treatment facility to be built along Highway 6 near the city’s raw water intake. The action came in a 5-2 vote in a special council meeting held Feb. 6.
Although the city government expects to finance the project with a low-interest loan from the state, the new plant will cause rates for city water customers to double. However, City Council is also considering asking voters to approve a 0.5 percent sales tax increase to help pay off the debt, which would lessen the burden on customers…
Dick Deussen, city utilities director, said the new plant will use advanced water treatment technologies, including a low-pressure membrane, granular activated carbon and reverse osmosis, and is expected to produce good-tasting water…
If all goes smoothly with the advance work, he said construction could begin this fall, and the plant could be complete by the end of 2014.
More water treatment coverage here.
From The Rifle Citizen Telegram (Jenny Lavey):
City of Rifle Director of Utilities Richard Deussen said although the project is years out, it’s clear the current water treatment plant needs to be replaced. “It’s getting to the point where it’s difficult to find parts when it needs to be fixed,” Deussen said.
Rifle City Council is currently holding budget workshops and reviewing how the city could fund a new plant. Development and construction of a brand new water plant could cost up to $30 million and would have to be funded through either an increase in city water rates or a sales tax increase, according to Deussen.
The new plant would be of high quality, utilizing the reverse osmosis process and granular activated carbon (GAC), a specialized filter medium that removes tastes and orders from city water. Deussen said the current water plant uses sand filters, which may contribute to the taste and odor of Rifle’s water — a common complaint among Rifle residents…
Rifle City Manager John Hier said finance matters and an application to the Colorado Water and Power Authority have to be completed before further details can be planned for building a new plant. “Design plans are scheduled to completed in February, and even then we’re a few years out from construction,” Hier said.
More water treatment coverage here.
The town of Rifle is keeping a close watch on oil and gas exploration in the Beaver Creek Watershed
October 27, 2009
From the Grand Junction Sentinel (Dennis Webb):
The Rifle City Council on Wednesday agreed to let Laramie Energy II build two additional drilling pads in the Beaver Creek drainage, where the council last year issued a watershed permit for five Laramie pads, pipelines and associated facilities.
Beaver Creek, south of Rifle, is the city’s best and oldest water supply, said council member Alan Lambert. He said protecting it from Laramie’s operations has been a concern for council members, but Laramie has gone far to address those concerns.
Key steps have included putting in the monitoring system and relocating Beaver Creek Road away from the creek to provide a buffer from possible spills.
From the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel (Dennis Webb):
U.S. Sen. Mark Udall, D-Colo., said in a news release that he successfully included the money in an Interior Appropriations bill that passed 77–21. A final version of the bill remains to be worked out with the House of Representatives. Mayor Keith Lambert said the city had been in contact with Colorado lawmakers about the project. “To have a partner like the federal government helping us promote our water systems here in Rifle is certainly a benefit,” he said. The money would come from the Environmental Protection Agency’s State and Tribal Grant Program. It would help pay for upgrades to the city’s main water line and construction of new lines. One line would improve service to customers on the south side of the Colorado River by building in redundancy to water delivery there. Lambert said a line also would be built to where the city is planning to construct a new water treatment facility. The water lines project, now in the preliminary engineering and design phase, requires a 45 percent cost share by the city.
More Rifle coverage here.
DOLA doles out $47 million
May 3, 2009
From the Associated Press via the Aspen Daily News:
The Department of Local Affairs awarded the money Friday for 47 projects from 55 applications seeking nearly $49 million. The grants will allow communities to leverage more than $195 million in public-private and local matching funds, which will finance $218.5 million in construction work…
Garfield County projects include the sheriff annex expansion ($600,000), the county human services annex construction ($600,000), Donegan Road expansion in Glenwood Springs ($500,000) and the Rifle water treatment plant design ($600,000).
More coverage from the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel (Dennis Webb):
Projects in Mesa County received a total of $3.6 million, more than any other county. Coming in second was La Plata County, with nearly $3 million in grants. The state said the 47 projects will be funded by more than $195 million in public-private and local matching funds, resulting in a combined $218.5 million boost in construction activity. Projects that meet basic infrastructure needs received highest priority, while emphasis also was placed on those with renewable-energy or energy-conservation components…
Rifle Mayor Keith Lambert voiced a similar sentiment. “We’re happy for anything we receive in this area because our needs are so great,” he said. The city expects its new water plant will cost between $30 million and $40 million to build…
Rangely got $495,000 for water and wastewater infrastructure improvements and $100,000 for street and drainage upgrades.
More Coyote Gulch coveage here.
