To the Editor:

Re: Granby/SilverCreek Water & Wastewater Authority Public Meeting, Feb 27

I, like many of the more than 50 public attendees, attended this informational meeting. Certainly, considerable Authority research and study preceded this public forum, although the public was totally unaware of the issue. Still, definitive answers were not always forthcoming in response to the many questions from the attendees.

The focus of the meeting was how the Water Authority is to comply with new State of Colorado standards for water purity. When Authority well #3 was tested last spring it failed to meet the new State standards and was forced to close. Ultimately, the three remaining wells in the south area could meet the same fate when tested. This affects all water users south of the Fraser River which number about 1,700 Single Family Equivalent (SFE) users in Grand Elk, Granby Ranch, Silver Sage, Innsbruck and Ski Granby Ranch for snowmaking. The proposed solution is a new groundwater treatment facility with an estimated total cost of 8 to 9 million dollars.

This will result in water rates at 2-3 times the current rates. The proposed facility capacity will exceed by four fold the daily needs of the 1,700 SFE users because of the winter surge requirements for snowmaking. The Authority is under contract to provide filtered water for snow making three months each winter until 2016 when the current contract ends. This is before the proposed facility will be completed. There is no contractual commitment for snow making beyond 2016, yet this snow making requirement is driving the high capacity and cost of the new facility. This begs the question, “Why treated water for snowmaking?” Why not use untreated water for snowmaking and reduce the capacity (and cost) of the new facility so that it is commensurate with the amount of treated water used by the 1,700 SFE users, who pay this bill? I urge the authority to provide untreated water for snow making. This will reduce the need for treated water which will reduce the required capacity and cost of the proposed facility.

Gary Smith

Granby