On Feb. 21, the Paint Brush Hills Metropolitan District, along with the Colorado Rural Water Association, hosted a stakeholder meeting at the district office in Falcon, Colorado, to begin the process of developing a source water protection plan.Leon Gomes, district manager for PBHMD, said the purpose of the SWPP (source water protection plan) is to determine the risks facing the districtís source of water. ìWhen you look at surface water versus groundwater, surface water has more risk because it is exposed,î Gomes said. ìThose risks could be hazardous material spills, vandalism to well heads or acts of terrorism. It is really determining how exposed our well heads are, what risks there are and what we need to do to mitigate the risks we have identified.îGomes said Paul Hempel, source water specialist with CRWA (the Colorado Rural Water Association), provided an overview of the SWPPís purpose and the process to develop a plan. Gomes said they are trying to find people interested in participating in the development process. The final committee will consist of three community members; two PBHMD board members; Rick GonÁalves, the districtís contracted engineer and president of RG and Associates LLC; and Raimere Fitzpatrick, planner II for El Paso County.ìHaving the county representative here for the first meeting was helpful because we need to know what route the Stapleton Road extension is going to take,î Gomes said. ìThe types of vehicles on that roadway will change, so it is possible to have a truck carrying chemicals on that road, which could end up with a spill. We want to make sure to have an emergency response plan in place for that.îGomes said the SWPP is funded by a $5,000 grant the district received from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, plus matching in-kind contributions from the district.A second meeting regarding the SWPP was held April 5 at the district offices ó after the deadline for The New Falcon Herald. Gomes said that at that meeting he planned to provide more details about the water sources within the district, the locations and types of wells.ìThe process will take up to six meetings before the final document is created and goes before the board of directors for their adoption of it,î Gomes said. ìOnce the board has accepted the plan, the next step is implementation of that plan. What kinds of risks did the plan determine and what are the mitigations to those risks? What are we going to do about them?îEditorís note: The NFH will follow up in May.
