Parker Water happy with rainfall, touts expansion and ability to serve community’s future needs

Report on Parker Water and Sanitation District

Introduction

It takes various water sources, facilities, and technology to provide residents with everyday water in the Parker community.

Although some may be tired of the record-breaking amount of rain, the Parker Water and Sanitation District has benefited from the rain.

The Rueter-Hess Reservoir hit the lowest storage of the year on November 10, 2022, with a depth of 86.79 acre feet and volume of 16,736 acre feet of water.

An acre foot of water equals about 326,000 gallons, or enough water to cover an acre of land 1-foot deep.

Within seven months from hitting its lowest point, on June 16, 2023, the district increased storage by 4,726 acre feet and the depth of the reservoir had increased by 9.53 feet, according to Ron Redd, the district manager for the Parker Water District.

Redd said 4,726 acre feet of water is what about 12,000 homes will use per year.

On May 12, 2013, the river was declared free, allowing the water district to keep water that flowed into the reservoir and water pumped from Cherry Creek.

Within a month, Redd said the district stored 3,232 acre feet of water and the depth increased by 6.7 feet, which would take care of the needs of nearly 8,000 homes a year.

The district is currently pumping 20,000 gallons of water per minute into the reservoir from Cherry Creek. As of July 6, there is 23,312 acre feet of water in Rueter Hess Reservoir and the total depth is 100 feet deep.

Where Your Water Comes From

Established in 1962, the Parker Water and Sanitation District is a water and wastewater facility that currently serves about 20,030 accounts and anticipates serving 35,000 by the year 2040.

The now AA+ accredited facility serves customers in the Town of Parker as well as various surrounding communities, however, not all residents of the town are served by the water district.

Those receiving service from the water district in the Stroh and Hess Ranch areas of the town are not within the district boundaries.

The district relies on multiple water sources to provide water to their customers.

In addition to rainfall, the district gets water from their wells in the Denver Basin, run-off from Newlin Gulch, and through their junior water rights on Cherry Creek.

The Denver Basin Aquifer are deep wells that draw water from underground sources, with wells ranging from 515 to 2,745 feet deep.

Recently, the district has been storing water from Newlin Gulch and Cherry Creek.

The district also has water rights on South Platte, which is currently being used for agricultural purposes and not municipal needs. But it will play into the plans for the Platte Valley Water Partnership.

Launched in 2021, the partnership with the Lower South Platte Water Conservancy District aims to optimize existing and future water demands resources as demands will increase as the population grows.

Another partnership is with WISE – Water, Infrastructure, and Supply Efficiency. This regional water supply project between Aurora, Denver, and members of the South Metro Water Supply Authority allows infrastructure and supplies to be shared, reducing the region’s reliance on nonrenewable groundwater and maximizing existing water assets.

Located on Newlin Gulch, a tributary drainage of Cherry Creek, is the Rueter-Hess Reservoir. Water was first pumped into the reservoir in 2011 and was completed in 2012. The storage of the water in the reservoir helps serve the district’s water demands. With a capacity to hold 75,000 acre feet according to Redd, the reservoir encompasses 1,170 acres.

First in the Nation

The Rueter-Hess Water Purification Facility is a technologically advanced facility capable of treating up to 10 million gallons of water per day from the Rueter-Hess Reservoir.

Common in Japan and Australia, the Parker water district was the first in the U.S. to have a large-scale potable water treatment facility to use ceramic membrane filter technology, said Redd.

The $52 million facility was commissioned in early 2015 and began sending water into the system in July of the same year. Water comes in from the reservoir to the bottom of the purification facility and goes through a tedious treatment process before being sent to customers.

“What we do is manipulate the water as it goes through the process,” said Redd. “We add all these chemicals, we take out all the stuff you don’t want in the water, then we bring it back to regular water.”

The water first goes through a flocculation process where charged sand mixes with the water coming in from the reservoir, attracting particles. While the sand is recycled, the water goes into settling basins where water pours over the top and particles continue to fall out.

The district then uses a recirculating powered activated carbon – PAC – system to remove dissolved organic carbon compounds which takes out pharmaceuticals that come from wastewater streams as well as odor and taste.

According to Redd, water is then pushed through the six-foot-tall tubes with the ceramic membrane treatment filters. All 650 filters are designed with certain shapes which allow water molecules to go through but bacteria and viruses are too big to pass.

The bacteria and viruses that are too big get backwashed into ponds, which is then brought back into the treatment plant.

“So we have very little loss,” said Redd. “It’s less than 4%.”

Underneath the ceramic filters are large tanks with chlorine. The chlorine mixes with the water and is then sent to customers.

Conventional Wastewater Treatment

Following the completion of the expansion last summer, the North Water Reclamation Facility is a $64 million advanced wastewater treatment facility designed to treat four million gallons per day.

Wastewater from the collection system across the community goes to this location where large coarse materials are taken out and go to a landfill.

“We’re trying to salvage as much and reclaim as much water as we possibly can through the system,” said Ben Emerson, wastewater and collections manager.

According to Redd, the facility is a water resource for the district as nearly 6,000 to

SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

• SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation
• SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
• SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
• SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

• SDG 6.4: By 2030, substantially increase water-use efficiency across all sectors and ensure sustainable withdrawals and supply of freshwater to address water scarcity.
• SDG 9.4: By 2030, upgrade infrastructure and retrofit industries to make them sustainable, with increased resource-use efficiency and greater adoption of clean and environmentally sound technologies and industrial processes.
• SDG 11.1: By 2030, ensure access for all to adequate, safe, and affordable housing and basic services and upgrade slums.
• SDG 12.2: By 2030, achieve the sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

• Water storage capacity and depth in the Rueter-Hess Reservoir
• Amount of water stored and used by the district
• Number of homes served by the district’s water supply
• Technological advancements in water treatment facilities
• Water-use efficiency and resource-use efficiency

Table: SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

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Source: douglascountynewspress.net

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