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BOCC (07/14t03)
PROJECT INFORMATION AND STAFF COMMENTS
REQUEST, tr /4^$q ull-n
&r^ 2*"r*r''{n.
APPLICANT:
ENGINEERS:
LOCATION:
Application for Site Approval for Construction of a
new Domestic Wastewater Treatment Facility at the
Rock Gardens Mobile Home Park and Campground.
Rock Gardens Mobile Home Park and Campground,
LLC
Zancanella & Associates, Inc.
Rock Gardens is located in the center portion of
Section 2, Township 6 South, Range 89 West of the
P.M. It is more practically located south and east of
No Name, CO and south of I-70.
I. SUMMARY OR REQUEST
Rock Gardens Mobile Home Park and
Campground, LLC is proposing the
construction of a wastewater treatment
facility ("WTF") at the Rock Gardens
Mobile Home Park and Campground.
The image in the upper right shows the plan
view of the proposed location of the WTF
on a "bench" above the Colorado River. The
photo on the lower right shows the bench as
it currently exists today (looking down the
Glenwood Canyon to Glenwood Springs)
and serves as tent camping sites with picnic
tables.
U. DESCRIPTION OF THE
PROPOSAL
The Rock Gardens Mobile Home Park and
Campground is a 17 acre property that
consists of cabins, mobile homes, RV
spaces, summer camp sites, single family
dwellings, and other buildings associated
with a river rafting industry. The property is
currently served by two (2) on-site water
q \'( L oo itt ^Dw\
wells and wastewater is served by septic tanks and leach fields.
Request: Rock Gardens requests Site Application approval to construct a Wastewater Treatment
Facility ("Closed Loop Reactor System") to treat all wastewater generated from the park (0.025
MGD / per day). This will entail disconnecting and abandoning all ISDS systems then connecting
into the proposed system. The effluent will then be discharged into the Colorado River. The "service
area" will consist only of the Rock Gardens Mobile Home Park and Campground.
Projected Service
Specifically, the treatment facility is proposed to only serve the existing uses currently
operating at Rock Gardens Mobile Home Park which includes cabins, mobile homes, RV
spaces, summer camp sites, single family dwellings, and other buildings associated with a
river rafting industry. The water demand for the development is 69.3 EQRs.
Wastewater Flow
The proposed system will consist of an E. A. Aerotor Closed Loop Reactor (CLR) treatment
facility. The CLR system will have a plant capacity of 0.025 MGD to serve Rock Gardens
and has a flow rate of approximately 18,000 gallons per day (gpd).As noted earlier, the
effluent will be discharged into the Colorado Riverjust below and slightly downstream from
the facility.
Water and Sanitation Districts
At present, Rock Gardens is not located in the service area of an existing provider or 201
plan. The property is not located in the Glenwood Springs 201 plan. Staff discussed the
proposal with the City of Glenwood Springs and understands the City is in the planning
process for a new wastewater treatment facility that contemplates including No Name in the
study area. This planning process should be finished in less than a year. No discussion was
provided as to the potential for hooking into the City's current system or the potential
existing capacity to serve Rock Gardens however assumptions were made as to current flow
and population estimates / projections for that area as part of the planning effort. The main
comments provided by the City indicated that if a treatment facility is approved, it should be
approved to serve the area of No Name and not just Rock Gardens (see Exhibit A). The
Applicant proposed opportunities for consolidation with the nearby Colorado Department of
Transportation (CDOT) facilities and has determined that CDOT is not interested at this
time.
Hazards
According to the report completed by Zancanella & Associates, the proposed treatment
facility is not located in the identified 100-year floodplain. The Applicant submitted a
geotechnical study conducted by HP Geotech which ultimately indicated that the property is
suitable for the proposed development based on geologic conditions and there are no
geologic hazards that would prevent the development as proposed. It should be noted
however, the area containing Rock Gardens has been designated as Low Density Residential
due to certain environmental constraints discussed below.
Description of Selected Alternative
a.
b.
d.
e.
l)
The selected altemative is an E. A. Aerotor Closed Loop Reactor (CLR) treatment facility.
The CLR system will have a plant capacity of 0.025 MGD to serve the existing operations at
Rock Gardens. The CLR process functions as the reactorbasin for extended aeration and the
Spiraflo Clarifier functions as the settling tank. These two functions are described below:
Closed Loop Reactor Operation: Wastewater flows through a bar screen and into the reactor
basin upstream from the rotor. The rotor distributes the incoming and retumed sludge flows
and mixes them with active microorganisms. The rotors also supply oxygen and provide
propulsion to keep the contents of the reactor basin uniformly mixed and in motion. The
mixture of wastewater and active microorganisms circulates with the reactor basin for about
24 hours. The flow then passes over a handwheel operated weir into the Spiraflo Clarifier.
Spiraflo Clarifier Operation: In the Spiraflo Clarifier, the solids separate from the liquid to
form sludge and scum. The remaining clear liquid passes over the clarifier effluent weir and
is discharged into either the effluent stream or to further treatment processes. The floating
scum and settled sludge are returned to the reactor basin by an air lift pump from the scum
box and the clarifier respectively. Excess sludge formed by the process is stable. It is
removed from the system and transported to a sludge holding tank which can be applied to
sludge beds and sludge lagoons or it can be hauled away for land disposal.
Treatment Alternatives
The Applicant considered several other on-site and off-site alternatives. As mentioned
earlier, there are currently no offsite facilities in place to provide wastewater treatment to the
property. Rock Gardens is not located in the service area of an existing provider or 201 plan.
The property is not located in the current Glenwood Springs 201 plan. The Applicant
proposed opportunities for consolidation with the nearby Colorado Department of
Transportation (CDOT) facilities and has determined that CDOT is not interested at this
time.
Various on-site altematives included 1) Design and construction of an Individual Sewage
Treatment System (ISTS) and Design and construction of a Chromaglas SBR System. These
alternatives were not chosen due to cost and space constraints and maintenance costs.
Effluent Limitations
As noted, the proposed facility proposes to discharge the effluent into the Colorado River
below the facility. The Colorado River in that area is classified for the following uses:
1) Cold Water Aquatic Life Class I
2) Class 1a Existing Primary Contact Recreation
3) Agriculture
4) Water Supply
To ensure these uses are protected, the Colorado Department ofHealth and Environment will
provide a set of standards to be applied to the proposed treatment facility.
Operation & Maintenance
The facility will be operated and maintained by a State certified Operator.
2)
h.
i. Facility Cost / Implementation Plan and Schedule
The proposed facility is estimated to cost $319,000.00. The following is the anticipated WTF
permitting, construction and operation schedule. (See Table 2 of the Site Application
document)
1.Permitting:
a. Site Application review by Colorado Department of Public Health and
Environment (Grand Junction office) approved by August 1,2003; and
b. Site Application review by Colorado Department of Public Health and
Environment (Denver office) approved by September 1, 2003;
Construction:
a. Plans and Specifications completed by September 1" 2003;
b. Design review by Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment
approved by September 1, 2003;
c. Bids for plans decided and bid accepted by January 1,2004;
d. Construction begins January 1,2004; and
e. Construction completed by April 31,2004.
3. Operation:
a. Discharge Permit Application approved by April 31,2004; and
b. Fully licensed and operational by May 1,2004.
STAFF COMMENTS
State Statutes: C.R.S. 25-8-702(2)(a-c), and the "Regulations for Site Applications for
Domestic Wastewater Treatment Works", defines the parameters by which the Water Quality
Control Division ("Division") shall review and approve or deny a site application for a
wastewater treatment works. The Division is required to determine that each site location is
1) consistent with the long range, comprehensive planning for the area in which it is to be
located; 2) that the plant on the proposed site will be managed to minimize the potential
adverse impacts on water quality; and 3) must encourage the consolidation of wastewater
treatment works whenever feasible.
The Applicant is required to obtain a recommendation of approval, denial or no comment
from the Garfield County Board of Health and County Board of County Commissioners and
various other local and regional agencies.
Therefore, Garfield County's involvement in the process is to determine whether or not the
proposed wastewater treatment work is consistent with "the long-ranee comprehensive plan
for the area as it affects water quality and any approved regional wastewater management
plan&rlhe_aleA".
a. Relationship to the Comprehensive Plan
The main mechanism with which the Board evaluates whether or not a proposed
2.
III.
b.
wastewater treatment facility is appropriate is the Comprehensive Plan and whether or
not the proposal is consistent with the long-range plan of the area. The Garfield County
Comprehensive Plan of 2000 identifies the Rock Gardens property as Low Densitlz
Residential (10 acres or more per dwelling unit). Please refer to the maps provided in
Exhibit B. This directly conflicts with the current legal non-conforming uses operating
on the site today which include RV Camping, high density mobile home park, and river
rafting operations. Moreover, as mentioned above, all of these uses are serviced by
individual ISDS.
It should be noted, the low density residential designation was given due to the
significance of the area's major development constraints which include major slope
constraints, major soil constraints, major ISDS constraints, and major floodplain
constraints as identified and defined in the Comprehensive Plan. In essence, this areawas
designated low density residential because it has severe natural hazards.
Guiding land use policy in the plan (Section 7.0 Water and Sewer Services) is based on
this designation. The policy that provides the most direct guidance includes:
Objective 7.5 provides the most direct guidance to this issue. It states that Garfield
County will strongbt discourage the proliferation of private water and sewer systems.
Since Rock Gardens is proposing a private sewer system to serve only their specific
existing needs on their property and does not contemplate providing service to
surrounding areas, Staff finds Objective 7.5 above to be fairly clear in that these types of
systems should be strongly discouraged.
Demonstrated Need
The current proposal is to abandon the current ISDS that seryes the existing uses /
operations and connect to a central wastewater facility. However, the applicant has not
demonstrated that a distinct "need" exists to switch to a new system. One of the
applicable Water and Sewer Services goals in the Comprehensive Plan includes the
following:
To ensure the provision of legal, adequate, dependable, cost effective and
environmentally sound woter and sewer services for new development
Staff is not convinced the proposed system that discharges effluent into the Colorado
River is more environmentally sound and cost effective than the current ISDS especially
when that particular section of the Colorado River is classified in that area for uses
including Cold Water Aquatic Life Class 1, Class 1a Existing Primary Contact
Recreation, Agriculture, and Water Supply.
Future Connectivity
As mentioned above, the City of Glenwood Springs is currently reviewing the existing
201 plan (central sewer system) to determine whether an expansion will occur and where
?y
that expansion will occur. More specifically, the No Name is currently considered in the
study area and being discussed as whether it could and should be served by a regional
facility in Glenwood Springs. In a referral comment provided by Andrew McGregor,
Glenwood Springs Community Development Director, the "No Name area is within the
City's 201 planning area and that plan is currently being updated with an eye towards
developing a regional treatment facility that would encompass an area beyond
Glenwood's corporate limits (see Exhibit A). Staff has also had several conversations
with Larry Thompson, Glenwood Springs Engineer, who concurs with the thinking
presented here.
Based on the current planning underway, Staff believes that the potential for central
sewer service provided by Glenwood Springs may be available in the relatively near
future. It should also be noted, that the Glenwood Springs Community Development
(Director, similar to Garfield County Staff, contemplates the potential willingness of the
Rock Garden system to reach beyond its borders to include surrounding density in the No
Name area.
V. RECOMMENDATION
Based on the current comprehensive plan designation of low density residential, the potential
possibility of future connectivity to a20l plan, and an unidentified need, Staff recommends that the
Garfield County Board of Health RECOMMEND DISAPPROVAL of the site application for the
Rock Gardens Wastewater Treatment Facility.
PROJECT INFORMATION AND STAFF COMMENTS
BOCC (08/04/03)
FJ
Application for Site Approval for Construction of a
new Domestic Wastewater Treatment Facility at the
Rock Gardens Mobile Home Park and Campground.
Rock Gardens Mobile Home Park and Campground,
LLC
Zancanella & Associates, Inc.
Rock Gardens is located in the center portion of
Section 2, Township 6 South, Range 89 West of the
P.M. It is more practically located south and east of
No Name, CO and south of I-70.
REQUEST:
APPLICANT:
ENGINEERS:
LOCATION:
I. SUMMARY OR REQUEST
Rock Gardens Mobile Home Park and
Campground, LLC is proposing the
construction of a wastewater treatment
facility ("WTF") at the Rock Gardens
Mobile Home Park and Campground. The
image in the upper right shows the plan view
of the proposed location of the WTF on a
"bench" above the Colorado River. The
photo on the lower right shows the bench as
it currently exists today (looking down the
Glenwood Canyon to Glenwood Springs)
and serves as tent camping sites with picnic
tables.
II. BACKGROUND
As you recall, this request was originally
brought to your attention on July 14,2003;
however, it was not discussed and
rescheduled for your regular August 4th,
2003 meeting for discussion. Please bring
the materials provided to you at the July l4th
meeting to this meeting on the 4ft of August.
No additional information has been
provided on this issue.
BOCC (08/04/03)
FJ
SUPPLEMENT TO MEMO
TIne Zzncanella letter basically adds the following points:
1) Rock Gardens is a legal non-conforming use under today's regulations even though it is
zoned R/G/SD and contemplated as low-density residential by the comprehensive plan;
2\ The wastewater facilities have also developed at densities that are greater than currently
alowed r". ir;r'';ffi;'?;, J **,,,"t ; -,; - irl- i ?.b' *o'tt, t E^';"n**+
3) The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment have been encouraging Rock
gardens to convert to a central system;
4) While, the current systems at Rock Gardens provide "adequate seryices" they would not be
approved today by the CDPHE at the existing densities and therefore CDPHE recommends
an upgrade;
5) Examined an alternative to tie the No Name area into Glenwood Springs along the bike path
corridor through the canyon with 3 pump stationq at a cost of approximately $ 1,359,000.00,
but too smelly so abandoned; (- fio- anrr""\;'". )
CDOT refuses to connect to the proposed wastewater plant;
Rock Gardens is willing to make this system be a regional system that could incorporate the
density of No Name area by oversizing and enlarging the system as proposed; and
No Name is not in the City's current 201 plan while it is being contemplated for inclusion'
6)
7)
8)
Land Use Issues
A) Property is zoned R/ G / SD;
Uses. blz right: /o Single-family v
o Two-familyo Multiple-familydwellings. Boarciing and iooming h"ouse /
o Customary accessory uses including buildings for shelter or enclosure of animals or
property iccessory [o use of the l6t for reiidential purposes and fences, hedges,
gardens, walls, and similar landscape featureso Parko Wholesale nursery provided all non-plant materials and equipment is enclosed in a
building or obscured from sight
Uses. conditional:o Row houseo Studio for conduct of arts and craftso Home occupation. Churcho Community building. Day nursery and schoolo Group home for the elderly
Uses. special: .,o Mobile home parkvo Water impoundmentso Utility lineso Utility substationso Communicationfacilityo Correction facilityo Mass Transit Facility
B) Comp Plan contemplates a low-density residential land use; and
C) Current property's uses are mostly legal non-conforming: They include:
o Cabins for Guest Accommodations
. Long term residential mobile homes
o Guest RV spaces
o Guest summer camp sites
. LonB term single-family dwellings
o Support buildings associated with a river rafting industry
o Commercial guided river rafting operation
Bill O,*nr, Gorcmor
Jrnc E. Notott, Bccudvc Dircor
WATB QUAUTY CONTnOL COMMISSION
hq/u,rtw"sdph?strtaoo.ut
{300 Chsry Cre* Ddw Scdt
DGrwer, Colondo Eo261 5lO
Phone Gl03! 69il-3{69
FqO03) 691.7702
Oetober 26. 1999
Theodora K GuY, President
Mid Valley MeboPolitan Diefric{
0031 Duroux [ane, Su]b A
Basatt, CO 81621€35?
Dear Mr. Guy:
I arn writing on behalf of thc Cobrado Whbr Quality GontolCommisslon ln BsPonse-to
vour Sept6mber ZO, tggg letter oprcs?Eg conccm .bout a hck of qupgo.rt !v m."
-CoioraOi
Oepartmeit of publlc Heal$ and Environmcntforyour DisEicfs Garfield County
Servica plan in thg hearing bsfure the Garficld Counly Board of QgmJnissioners. The
Commlssion also has reel-ved a copy of Dave Holm's Sepbmber 29, 1999 rcaponee to
F"|[il.;: Tl. do.rioion discr.rssed thesg letbrs at its October 12, 1999 monthly
meeting.
The Commiesion appraciates headng your concems rcEardingthis mattEr' As noted in
Davc Hotm s teteiftiyou, aome*ic inlngc fteatnent pianning i.:g9: arc often compler
and controversiaL They.present a partilular ciallenge to the Water-Qualifl Gontrol
Cornm'rssion and Oiri"iJnin attempting to addresewatlrqualityissueswithoutinErGring
wlth local land use decislons, The 6mmlsslon's Reguiillons for the site Rpplitttioq
procass, Rcgulation#iD. provide trat in rwiening sib.appticalions thc DMslon shall
;"ncouragc 6e consol[dafibn of uastauratcr trpatncnt uiorta whenever feasible.' The
DMslon hae elso piEiE o a rist *'Factors 6r Use ln Determining Feieibil,ty of
consoiaOatton.' I Sniiose copieB of tlrc rcgulation and this tist of fiactors fior youi
infonnation. nowcvcr, lt'is impirtantto noEthatthe Divislon has no authorityto mandate
consolldation.
STAIEOL \-OLO[(ADO
RECEIVED
NOu 1 1999
[|0 yfllty tlElnof0ulAil U$[
Wb ars sorry to hcar about thc contuslon that appannfly occuged [9a{ng whether th-E
Divislon would Ue pani.lpating ln tre Garlietd County hearing. Thc Commlssion will
discuss wtth the Oliiifon LpUo-ns for maldng local deciilon-makers aware of state water
qr.ltty policies wffrout unaufi interEring wtttr tre local land'use plinning process.
li
t
T
q-l
P.O. Box 19O8
1OO5 Cooper Ave.
Glenwood Springs,
co 81602
6rron ggnr{6 Cof\ stl:utlts
July 29, 2003
Mr. Fred Jarman
Garfield County Planning Department
108 Eighth Street, Suite 201
Glenwood Springs, CO 81601
RECEIVED
Rock Gardens Site Application
JUL 3 0 2003
GARFIELD COUNTY
N,,H.DING & PLANNIT{G
Dear Fred:
ln follow up to your comments with respect to the site application for Rock Gardens, we
have provided the following additional information to assist you in your analysis. As you
are aware, the Rock Gardens facilities have evolved over many years. The facilities
have been grandfathered into the County Zoning Regulations as "existing, non-
conforming uses".
As such, the facilities developed at a density in excess of the typical current regulations
of ISDS systems. For approximately the last three to four years, Dwain Watson with the
Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) has been
encouraging the Rock Gardens owners to upgrade their facilities to a central treatment
system. While the existing wastewater system is currently providing adequate services,
the current density is in excess of that which would now be allowed for a new
installation by the CDPHE. Therefore, the CDPHE is recommending that the system be
upgraded to a central system.
As an alternative, we examined constructing a line to tie the No Name area in to the City
of Glenwood Springs. The only reasonable route, given the canyon's physical
limitations, would be to follow the US Highway anci tlie bicycle path for approxinnately
13,300 feet. The system would require three pump stations. The estimated cost would
be $1,359,000.00 (see attached).
There was also concern that because of the great distance, the wastewater would go
anaerobic and cause a significant odor problem in the area of the Arts Center or old
power house. Therefore, we eliminated this alternative.
Finally, we contacted the Colorado Department of Transportation with respect to
connecting their Rest Area to the wastewater plant. CDOT refused the offer. Even so,
the owners of the Rock Gardens Campground would be willing to make this a regional
facility for the No Name area. The plant can be oversized a small amount for future use
and could be reasonably enlarged if additional users want to connect to the central
(970) 94s-57OO
(970) 945-1253 Fax
\
ZaxcaxELLA AtrD Assoctarcs, tr{(.
treatment system. While the City of Glenwood is currently considering placing the No
Name area in the City 201 study area or service area; the No Name area is, in fact, not
within the current 201 plan for the City of Glenwood Springs.
We hope this additional information will assist you in being able to make a
recommendation of approval for the Rock Gardens Site Application.
lf you have any questions, please contact our office at (970) 945-5700.
Very truly yours,
Zancanella & Associates, Inc.
cc: Kevin Schneider
Ron Liston
Z:\20000\20739 Rock Gardens\garco-site app reply.doc
A. Zancanella, P.E.
ROCK GARDENS
SANITARY SEWER GONNEGTION TO GWS SYSTEM
29-Jul-03
ITEM AMOUNT UNIT UNIT COST EXTENDED COST
Force Main 13,300 L.F.$60.00 $798,000.0c
CO/Air-Vac Vaults 33 EA.$5,000.00 $165,000.0c
New Lift Station 2 EA.$80,000.00 $160,000.0c
Uporade Lift Station 1 EA.$60,000.00 $60,000.0c
4" AC Trench Patch 5,500 S.Y.$1 1.00 $60,500.0c
2" AC Lane Overlay 16,500 S,Y $7.00 $1 15,500.0C
rOTAL $1,359,000.00
NOTES:
4" C900 force main installed in trench compacted w/ aggregate base course
two new lift stations plus upgrade the existing one that will be tied into
cleanouVair-vac vaults at 400 foot spacing
4" AC trench patch
2" AC lane (or bike path) overlay
712912003 11:16 AM gws-san-sew-cost-est.xls
PROJECT INFORMATION AND STAFF COMMENTS
BOCC (07t14103)
FJ
Application for Site Approval for Construction of a
new Domestic Wastewater Treatment Facility at the
Rock Gardens Mobile Home Park and Campground.
Rock Gardens Mobile Home Park and Campground,
LLC
Zancanella & Associates, Inc.
Rock Gardens is located in the center portion of
Section 2, Township 6 South, Range 89 West of the
P.M. It is more practically located south and east of
No Name, CO and south of I-70.
REQUEST:
APPLICANT:
ENGINEERS:
LOCATION:
I. SUMMARY OR REQUEST
Rock Gardens Mobile Home Park and
Campground, LLC is proposing the
construction of a wastewater treatment
facility ("WTF") at the Rock Gardens
Mobile Home Park and Campground.
The image in the upper right shows the plan
view of the proposed location of the WTF
on a "bench" above the Colorado River. The
photo on the lower right shows the bench as
it currently exists today (looking down the
Glenwood Canyon to Glenwood Springs)
and serves as tent camping sites with picnic
tables.
DESCRIPTION OF THE
PROPOSAL
The Rock Gardens Mobile Home Park and
Campground is a 17 acre property that
consists of cabins, mobile homes, RV
spaces, summer camp sites, single family
dwellings, and other buildings associated
with a river rafting industry. The property is
currently served by two (2) on-site water
II.
i t '{
wells and wastewater is served by septic tanks and leach fields.
Request: Rock Gardens requests Site Application approval to construct a Wastewater Treatment
Facility ("Closed Loop Reactor System") to treat all wastewater generated from the park (0.025
MGD / per day). This will entail disconnecting and abandoning all ISDS systems then connecting
into the proposed system. The effluent will then be discharged into the Colorado River. The "service
area" will consist only of the Rock Gardens Mobile Home Park and Campground.
^. Projected Service
Specifically, the treatment facility is proposed to only serve the existing uses currently
operating at Rock Gardens Mobile Home Park which includes cabins, mobile homes, RV
spaces, summer camp sites, single family dwellings, and other buildings associated with a
river rafting industry. The water demand for the development is 69.3 EQRs.
b. Wastewater Flow
The proposed system will consist of an E. A. Aerotor Closed Loop Reactor (CLR) treatment
facility. The CLR system will have a plant capacity of 0.025 MGD to serve Rock Gardens
and has a flow rate of approximately 18,000 gallons per day (gpd).As noted earlier, the
effluent will be discharged into the Colorado River just below and slightly downstream from
the facility.
c. Water and Sanitation Districts
At present, Rock Gardens is not located in the service area of an existing provider or 207
plan. The property is not located in the Glenwood Springs 201 plan. Staff discussed the
proposal with the City of Glenwood Springs and understands the City is in the planning
process for a new wastewater treatment facility that contemplates including No Name in the
study area. This planning process should be finished in less than a year. No discussion was
provided as to the potential for hooking into the City's current system or the potential
existing capacity to serve Rock Gardens however assumptions were made as to current flow
and population estimates / projections for that area as part of the planning effort. The main
comments provided by the City indicated that if a treatment facility is approved, it should be
approved to serve the area of No Name and not just Rock Gardens (see Exhibit A). The
Applicant proposed opportunities for consolidation with the nearby Colorado Department of
Transportation (CDOT) facilities and has determined that CDOT is not interested at this
time.
d. Hazards
According to the report completed by Zancanella & Associates, the proposed treatment
facility is not located in the identified 100-year floodplain. The Applicant submitted a
geotechnical study conducted by HP Geotech which ultimately indicated that the property is
suitable for the proposed development based on geologic conditions and there are no
geologic hazards that would prevent the development as proposed. It should be noted
however, the area containing Rock Gardens has been designated as Low Density Residential
due to certain environmental constraints discussed below.
e.
1)
2)
Description of Selected Alternative
The selected altemative is an E. A. Aerotor Closed Loop Reactor (CLR) treatment facility.
The CLR system will have a plant capacity of 0.025 MGD to serve the existing operations at
Rock Gardens. The CLR process functions as the reactor basin for extended aeration and the
Spiraflo Clarifier functions as the settling tank. These two functions are described below:
Closed Loop Reactor Operation: Wastewater flows through a bar screen and into the reactor
basin upstream from the rotor. The rotor distributes the incoming and retumed sludge flows
and mixes them with active microorganisms. The rotors also supply oxygen and provide
propulsion to keep the contents of the reactor basin uniformly mixed and in motion. The
mixture of wastewater and active microorganisms circulates with the reactorbasin for about
24 hours. The flow then passes over a handwheel operated weir into the Spiraflo Clarifier.
Spiraflo Clarifier Operation: In the Spiraflo Clarifier, the solids separate from the liquid to
form sludge and scum. The remaining clear liquid passes over the clarifier effluent weir and
is discharged into either the effluent stream or to further treatment processes. The floating
scum and settled sludge are returned to the reactor basin by an air lift pump from the scum
box and the clarifier respectively. Excess sludge formed by the process is stable. It is
removed from the system and transported to a sludge holding tank which can be applied to
sludge beds and sludge lagoons or it can be hauled away for land disposal.
Treatment Alternatives
The Applicant considered several other on-site and off-site alternatives. As mentioned
earlier, there are currently no offsite facilities in place to provide wastewater treatment to the
property. Rock Gardens is not located in the service area of an existing provider or 201 plan.
The property is not located in the current Glenwood Springs 201 plan. The Applicant
proposed opportunities for consolidation with the nearby Colorado Department of
Transportation (CDOT) facilities and has determined that CDOT is not interested at this
time.
Various on-site alternatives included I ) Design and construction of an Individual Sewage
Treatment System (ISTS) and Design and construction of a Chromaglas SBR System. These
alternatives were not chosen due to cost and space constraints and maintenance costs.
Effluent Limitations
As noted, the proposed facility proposes to discharge the effluent into the Colorado River
below the facility. The Colorado River in that area is classified for the following uses:
1) Cold Water Aquatic Life Class I
2) Class I a Existing Primary Contact Recreation
3) Agriculture
4) Water Supply
To ensure these uses are protected, the Colorado Department of Health and Environment will
provide a set of standards to be applied to the proposed treatment facility.
o
h.Operation & Maintenance
The facility will be operated and maintained by a State certified Operator.
FaciliQ Cost / Implementation Plan and Schedule
The proposed facility is estimated to cost $3 19,000.00. The following is the anticipated WTF
permitting, construction and operation schedule. (See Table 2 of the Site Application
document)
1. Permitting:
a. Site Application review by Colorado Department of Public Health and
Environment (Grand Junction office) approved by August l, 2003; and
b. Site Application review by Colorado Department of Public Health and
Environment (Denver office) approved by September 1,2003;
2. Construction:
a. Plans and Specifications completed by September 1't 2003;
b. Design review by Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment
approved by September l, 2003;
c. Bids for plans decided and bid accepted by January 1,2004;
d. Construction begins January 1,2004; and
e. Construction completed by April 31,2004.
3. Operation:
a. Discharge Permit Application approved by April 31,2004: and
b. Fully licensed and operational by May 1,2004.
STAFF COMMENTS
State Statutes: C.R.S. 25-8-702(2Xa-c), and the "Regulations for Site Applications for
Domestic Wastewater Treatment Works", defines the parameters by which the Water Quality
Control Division ("Division") shall review and approve or deny a site application for a
wastewater treatment works. The Division is required to determine that each site location is
1) consistent with the long range, comprehensive planning for the area in which it is to be
located; 2) that the plant on the proposed site will be managed to minimize the potential
adverse impacts on water quality; and 3) must encourage the consolidation of wastewater
treatment works whenever feasible.
The Applicant is required to obtain a recommendation of approval, denial or no comment
from the Garfield County Board of Health and County Board of County Commissioners and
various other local and regional agencies.
Therefore, Garfield County's involvement in the process is to determine whether or not the
proposed wastewater treatment work is consistent with "the long-range comprehensive plan
for the area as it affects water qualitlz and any approved regional wastewater manasement
pl_aD&rlhe_area".
III.
b.
Relationship to the Comprehensive Plan
The main mechanism with which the Board evaluates whether or not a proposed
wastewater treatment facility is appropriate is the Comprehensive Plan and whether or
not the proposal is consistent with the long-range plan of the area. The Garfield County
Comprehensive Plan of 2000 identifies the Rock Gardens property as Low Density
Residential (10 acres or more per dwelling unit). Please refer to the maps provided in
Exhibit B. This directly conflicts with the current legal non-conforming uses operating
on the site today which include RV Camping, high density mobile home park, and river
rafting operations. Moreover, as mentioned above, all of these uses are serviced by
individual ISDS.
It should be noted, the low density residential designation was given due to the
significance of the area's major development constraints which include major slope
constraints, major soil constraints, major ISDS constraints, and major floodplain
constraints as identified and defined in the Comprehensive Plan. ln essence, this area was
designated low density residential because it has severe natural hazards.
Guiding land use policy in the plan (Section 7.0 Water and Sewer Services) is based on
this designation. The policy that provides the most direct guidance includes:
Objective 7.5 provides the most direct guidance to this issue. It states that Garfield
Coun$t will stronglv discourage the proliferation of private water and sewer svstems.
Since Rock Gardens is proposing a private sewer system to serve only their specific
existing needs on their property and does not contemplate providing service to
surrounding areas, Staff finds Objective 7.5 above to be fairly clear in that these types of
systems should be strongly discouraged.
Demonstrated Need
The current proposal is to abandon the current ISDS that serves the existing uses /
operations and connect to a central wastewater facility. However, the applicant has not
demonstrated that a distinct "need" exists to switch to a new system. One of the
applicable Water and Sewer Services goals in the Comprehensive Plan includes the
following:
To ensure the provision of legal, adequate, dependable, cost effective and
environmentally sound water and sewer services for new developmenl
Staff is not convinced the proposed system that discharges effiuent into the Colorado
River is more environmentally sound and cost effective than the current ISDS especially
when that particular section of the Colorado River is classified in that area for uses
including Cold Water Aquatic Life Class 1, Class 1a Existing Primary Contact
Recreation, Agriculture, and Water Supply.
Future Connectivity
As mentioned above, the City of Glenwood Springs is currently reviewing the existing
201 plan (central sewer system) to determine whether an expansion will occur and where
that expansion will occur. More specifically, the No Name is currently considered in the
study area and being discussed as whether it could and should be served by a regional
facility in Glenwood Springs. In a referral comment provided by Andrew McGregor,
Glenwood Springs Community Development Director, the "No Name area is within the
City's 201 planning area and that plan is currently being updated with an eye towards
developing a regional treatment facility that would encompass an area beyond
Glenwood's corporate limits (see Exhibit A). Staff has also had several conversations
with Larry Thompson, Glenwood Springs Engineer, who concurs with the thinking
presented here.
Based on the current planning underway, Staff believes that the potential for central
sewer service provided by Glenwood Springs may be available in the relatively near
future. It should also be noted, that the Glenwood Springs Community Development
Director, similar to Garfield County Staff, contemplates the potential willingness of the
Rock Garden system to reach beyond its borders to include surrounding density in the No
Name area.
V. RECOMMENDATION
Based on the current comprehensive plan designation of low density residential, the potential
possibility of future connectivity to a201plan, and an unidentified need, Staffrecommends that the
Garfield County Board of Health RECOMMEND DISAPPROVAL of the site application for the
Rock Gardens Wastewater Treatment Facility.
EXHIBIT
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SpnrNGS
Aprll17,2003
Mr. Fred Jarman, Planner
Garfield County Planning and Buitding
108 Eighth Street, Suite 201
Glenwood Springs, CO 81601
RE: Rock Gardens Wastewater Treatment Plant
Dear Fred,
We have reviewed the site application for the Rock Gardens Wastewater Trcatment Plant and
have the following comments. We are generally supportive of the proposed improvements
recognizing that they should have an appreciable positive impact on the water quality of the
Colorado River by lessening or eliminating inadequately treated discharge. It should be noted
that the No Name area is within the City's 201 planning area and that plan is cunently being
updated with an eye towards developing a regional treatment facility that would encompass an
area beyond Glenwood's corporate limits. No decisions have been finalized about the ultimate
serice arca boundaries at this time. If the service area boundaries do not include the No Name
area for technical or economic rcasons, is there any opportunity fbr consolidation of some of the
non-confbrming systems into the Rock Gardens facility?
Thanks fbr allowing us the opportunity to comment on this proposal.
Sincerely,-/-(,.-"fu
Andrew McGregor
Community Development Director
(970) 384-6400 FAX (9't O) 945-2591
www.ci. glenwood-sprin gs.ccl. us
l0l W.8'h Srreer, Clenwood Springs, CO 81601
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April77,2003
Mr. Fred Jannan, planner
Garfield Counry Planning and Building
108 Eighth Street, Suite 201
Glenwood Springs, CO 81601
RE: Rock Gardens Wastewater Treatment plant
Dear Fred,
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4p,? { y l$Al
su*Dirub?fi:il1{il.,?H[ilopsorr,,
We have reviewed the site application for the Rock Gardens Wastewater Treatment plant and
have the following comments. We are generally supportive of the proposed improvements
recognizing that they should have an appreciable positive impact oo tn. water quality of the
Colorado River by lessening or eliminating inade[uately treated discharge. It should be noted
that the No Name area is within the City's 201 plannirLg arcaand that plin is currently being
updated with an eye towards developing a regional treatment facility that would encompass an
area beyond Glenwood's corporate limits. No decisions have been finalized about the ultimate
service area boundaries at this time. If the service area boundaries do not include the No Name
area for technical or economic reasons, is there any opportunity for consolidation of some of thenon-conforming systems into the Rock Gardens facility?
Thanks for allowing us the opportunity to comment on this proposal.
Sincerely,/il,--,-"+^
Andrew McGregor
C ommunity Development Director
(9'70) 384-6400 FAX (970) 945_2597
www.ci.glenwood-springs.co.us
lOi W. 8'h Street, Glenwood Springs, CO g160l
EXHIBITfi8
Existing Zone Districts, Vicinity of Rock Gardens
Proposed Zone Districts Documented in 2000
Comprehensive Plan, Vicinity of Rock Gardens
ARRO A9 Resdential Rurel D,nsity
CL Commercial Limitad
OS Open Spece
RGSD Res General Subuhan Density
RLSD Res Limlted Suburban Density
i...j crrYno!\N
N
o 500 l,ooo 2,oQo l,r
r
I
Legend
["--i ",r"nor^
OPEN SPACE
SUBOIVISION
RESIDENTIAL, LOW DENSITY
(10+ Acres per Dwelling Unit)
0 500 1 000 2000r---Feet
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