COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.—Developers searching for water for new homes and businesses in El Paso County could end up using some recycled, purified toilet water.
The county requires a 300-year water supply for most new subdivisions, the strictest requirement in the state and one county commissioners have rarely waived.
But few if any water rights are available, the supply of water stored in underground aquifers is finite, and well owners have mined the water that is there.
By 2008, farmers, ranchers, cities and homeowners drilled more wells in El Paso County than anywhere else in the state—19,919, about two-thirds of which are residential wells, according to the Colorado Division of Water Resources.
State water engineer Dick Wolfe said studies show the aquifers have been depleted by up to 50 feet in places.
At a business park under development near U.S. 24 east of Colorado Springs, one idea is to recycle wastewater from toilet to tap, reducing water use by 80 percent, said Mike Hurd, who is involved in the project. Hurd said water would be purified with a patent-pending process and be recirculated for use over and over.
Federal and state agencies would have to issue permits.
The proposal includes an option to inject treated water into the aquifer.
Cherokee Metropolitan District is looking at recharging supplies. It is building 11 storage basins south of Ellicott to hold treated wastewater as it filters into the shallow alluvium aquifer.
As it percolates through the soil and blends with virgin groundwater, the treated water will be purified and again pumped, chlorinated and delivered to 8,000 homes and 450 businesses, said Cherokee Metro District manager Kip Petersen.
“It doesn’t replace new water,” he said, “but it allows us to extend our use.”
A wastewater treatment plant that is under construction is expected to go into service next year.
Most required permits from the Colorado Public Health and Environment Department have been issued, said Water Quality Division spokesman Steve Gunderson.
Customers often say, “I’m going to be drinking what?” But Petersen said the engineering is already is at work in California and Phoenix.
Petersen said without turning to alternate methods of recycling, reuse and recharge, there’s not enough water to go around. “In 10 years, this state is looking at a crisis,” he said.
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Information from: The Gazette,
