Baca Grande Water and Sanitation District Drinking Water Projects Preliminary Engineering Report
By Lisa Cyriacks Board of Directors
The Board of Directors for the Baca Grande Water and Sanitation District will be conducting a public hearing on July 17,2009 at 9:00 a.m. at the District offices to gather input on the Preliminary Engineering Report (PER) for upcoming projects. These projects are being submitted to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment to seek funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act or a State Revolving Fund Loan.
Copies of the PER are available for public review prior to the public hearing at the District office. For more information contact Steve Harrell, General Manager, at 719-256-4310.
The PER recommends several projects be undertaken to improve District facilities. The study was undertaken due to health and safety considerations, difficulties with operation of the system, lack of accountability for water usage, and increased number of users. The expected outcome is to improve the District’s ability to provide an adequate supply of clean, healthy water to its customers.
The total estimated cost for the funding request is $1.9 million and will include water main replacement on Skyview Way, interconnection of water systems to increase reliability of service, improvements to Well 18 water supply and installation of automation and telemetry to prevent water loss and reduce carbon footprint by eliminating the need for manual monitoring of the system.
It is estimated that the debt service from this application will be repaid entirely from property tax revenues currently imposed by the District and no additional mill levy will need to be assessed. To offset some of the costs for securing these funds, the District has applied for a Technical Assistance Grant in the amount of $25,000.
In 2008 the District entered into contracts for grant funding with the Department of Local Affairs through its Energy and Mineral Impact Assistance Program totaling $319,000. These funds will be used to deepen an existing sewer line to prevent freezing and for upgrades to Well 18 water supply.
In addition, the District has secured financing through issuance of bonds in the amount of $3 million for several capital improvement projects including: a forced sewer main from Mobile Home Estates to connect to the existing sewage plant (and close the existing sewage lagoon), improvements to the sewage plant, and matching funds for the grants from the Department of Local Affairs. Portions of the proceeds were also used for reimbursement to the District of the 2008 election costs; legal, management and engineering costs incurred to acquire the financing, and for water main line extensions. Other uses of the funds include contingency funds for construction projects, retirement of existing municipal leases, and capitalized interest.
In 2009 the District increased its mill levy 7.21 mills, from 38.762 to 46, in anticipation of these financings to pay for these capital improvements. The amount paid by individual property owners is dependent on the associated property’s assessed valuation.
The Board determined at its strategic planning retreat that asset management is the key component to implementing all other strategies. Much work has been done to link together the roles of the board, management and staff. Our combined efforts have resulted in real investments in the District’s asset base to support the needs of our community. Thank you to the management and staff for all their hard work. Many thanks to our customers for supporting the mill levy increase.
Baca Grande Water and Sanitation District’s mission is to provide high quality, reliable, sustainable water and environmentally responsible treatment of wastewater with a commitment to service excellence for the wellbeing of the community in the most efficient and economical manner. For any updates, or more information, please visit us at www.bacawater.com or call us at 719-256-4310.
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