Western Slope-based engineering firm SGM presented the preliminary 20-year plan for repairs, replacement and funding for Cortez’s aging water infrastructure, which requires further build out to support projected need by 2050.
The city needs to allocate tens of millions of dollars in funding to replace a network of pipes that distributes water to residents as well as assess the condition of the 40-year old pipeline that brings raw water into Cortez, according to the firm’s analysis.
“You have 71 miles of pipe that is nearing the end of its useful life, so stay on top of it. Keep going with your rigorous distribution replacement program or else it will sneak up on you,” SGM engineer Catherine Carella warned City Council during their workshop July 28.
Council will have about a month to examine the draft plan and give feedback before its passage sometime in September, according to the city’s director of public works, Casey Simpson.
“The staff emotional range probably stretches from excitement to dread (or) anxiety,” Simpson said of his department’s response to the plan. “I think the biggest unknown that’s giving us all a little bit of stress is the raw water line. Nobody’s looked at it for 40 years. It’s got a 75-year predicted life span, but we want to get some cameras in there as soon as possible.”
He said an assessment of the pipeline, which was installed in 1986, is scheduled for next year.
“On the distribution side, we feel really well-equipped to put new water lines in the ground,” Simpson said. “But we’re looking at how to staff for the pavement patchbacks that will follow those water lines because obviously if we’re just doing water lines, we’re going to leave a nice little trail of pavement cuts behind us that people won’t really enjoy.”
SGM mapped the water distribution lines carrying drinking water throughout Cortez and, alongside city staff, rated their condition on a scale of zero to 100, zero being the worst. The map showed high-priority replacements for undersized distribution mains around South Oak Street, South Valley Road and North Dolores Road.
“The distribution system recommendations for replacement include really rigorous replacement installation,” Carella said, adding, “We don't necessarily think you should just go after red pipes over the next 10 years. Make it make sense with other roadway improvements (like) stormwater improvements, sewer improvements.”
Simpson said the city was looking into replacements and repairs around the neighborhoods near Alameda and South Valley Road, which he said also have sanitation pipes in need of replacement.
SGM also based its assessment on forecasted future demands, accounting for 0.8% population growth per year through 2050. The current maximum day demand for water is about 4 million gallons, which it projected to be around 4.8 million gallons in 24 years.
However, the current sedimentation process, which removes particles, at the city’s water treatment plant can only handle up to 1.8 million gallons per day, which, on high-demand days, needs to be supplemented by stored water.
“But it’s certainly the bottleneck for future growth. Your sedimentation process is the one major treatment plant process that we recommend updating and starting planning now for,” Carella said.
The cost of the master plan appeared to be at the top of one councilor’s mind.
“I feel like I’ve been hit by a truck right now,” Councilor April Randle said after clarifying the projected funding schedule.
The city budgeted $1.4 million for water projects in 2026 which will need to grow to around $7 million for 2032 then $15 million for 2036 then upward of $40 million spread out from 2037 to 2046, according to SGM’s recommendations.
“These projects are phased over years, so it’s not all at once, but it still gets quite expensive,” Carella said.
The city, according to Simpson, is searching for funding and grant opportunities. Randle also suggested during the July 28 council meeting funneling half the city’s proposed increased lodgers tax into the water budget. Regardless, Carella said, the city could not postpone repairs for long.
“If you don’t do anything for 10 years, you will be in trouble and the next council will pay the price,” Carella said.
avanderveen@the-journal.com
