Teller County Water & Sanitation District No. 1
Matrix is the District Engineer for the Teller County Water and Sanitation District #1 (TCWSD#1).
As the District Engineer, Matrix has been involved with multiple projects including planning studies and treatment alternatives analysis for their potable water system. TCWSD#1 currently has two wells running to supply their entire system, with several wells offline. Matrix is preparing a planning study to evaluate existing demands and reliability of the system. Matrix will also review individual wells and provide recommendations for which wells should be brought back online, and will design the rehabilitation for these wells.
The water supply for TCWSD#1 has been contaminated with Ethylene Dibromide (EDB). Matrix has evaluated their existing granular activated carbon (GAC) treatment system and provided recommendations for alternative treatments that will be more energy and cost efficient than the GAC units. As part of the recommendations, Matrix prepared a life-cycle cost/benefit analysis to show cost savings associated with the more energy efficient treatment. The Matrix team has also performed a structural investigation of the existing concrete storage tank to determine long term usability. The existing tank is currently offline, Matrix evaluated alternate storage options; such as connecting with neighboring water systems, demolishing the existing tank and installing a new tank at the existing site, refurbishing the existing tank and increasing its capacity, and combinations thereof.
Matrix has also completed a preliminary engineering report (PER) and secured a Drinking Water Revolving Fund loan from Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE). The PER outlined multiple alternatives for storage and distribution system upgrades for TCWSD#1. Additionally, as part of the PER, costs for each alternative were evaluated, and ultimately used to secure a $1.7 million loan for these proposed improvements. Matrix has recently completed the design of the improvements to the existing water storage tank and is preparing the construction drawings for the distribution system improvements.
The improvements to the existing storage tank provided many challenges. The existing tank was constructed in the late 1950s and is a triangularly shaped concrete tank. During the preparation of the PER, Matrix discovered that the property for tank was the triangular footprint of the tank. The tank is situated at the top of a hill with steep slopes surrounding the property. The existing property line and limited land dictated the only feasible solution was to rehabilitate the existing tank. Another major challenge was the fact that TCWSD#1 does not possess any as-built drawings of the tank. Many of the assumptions that were made for the design had to be changed and re-designed once construction began and information was obtained. The construction of the tank improvements is scheduled to be completed by the end of the year in 2011.