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RED CLIFF, Colorado — The town of Red Cliff declared a state of emergency with Eagle County Thursday because of a water system problem that has left Red Cliff hoses and faucets dry.
The problem began about 10 days ago and is the result of several factors — the town's bedrock geology, a shallow water main, warm temperatures in December and January, and a low snowpack have all come together to create a recipe for this disaster.
The water lines in Red Cliff were upgraded sometime in the last 20 years, said Diane Johnson, spokeswoman for the Eagle River Water and Sanitation District, the town's contracted water provider. The lines aren't all that old, but the problem is that some of the town's water lines are shallow, Johnson said.
Residents began noticing water problems in late January — pressure was lighter for some residents, while some residents weren't getting water at all, said resident Barb Bomier.
“We all woke up this morning with no water,” Bomier said Thursday.
The water district had crews in Red Cliff Wednesday night who worked through the night and throughout Thursday trying to detect where the exact problem — frozen water in the pipe — was located. They determined that the main kink point is somewhere in a stretch of the line that is about a mile long. It's also the stretch of line that connects the water plant to the town before branching off into other lines, which is why all the households in town have lost water.
Since the town of Red Cliff owns its water system and contracts with the water district to run it, the town has to cover the costs for such a disaster, not water district taxpayers.
With just 140-odd customer accounts in Red Cliff paying into the pot, it doesn't add up to much money.
Red Cliff Mayor Ramon Montoya said the declaration of an emergency will provide assistance for the problem, and the problem could also qualify for emergency funds at the state level, he said.
“The first step was declaring a state of emergency, which as I understand, means we look at county disaster funds and then look to the state,” Montoya said.
A similar problem happened about two years ago when water in the Red Cliff lines started freezing. That was a low snow year early on, leaving the lines more susceptible to freeze because of a lack of snow, which provides insulation.
But that case was viewed as an anomaly, Montoya said. It was a different kind of winter, and the town made some adjustments to its bleeders, which keep water flowing through the pipes to prevent freezing, at that time. That solved the problem the rest of that winter and then there were no problems last winter, a record snow year.
But without the insulation from the snow this year, and with shallow mains that can't be put any deeper without blasting out the bedrock that lies beneath, the freezing is happening again.
“They should have known,” said resident Lee Smith, blaming what he calls a dysfunctional town government for not stopping the problem before it started.
Bomier said it's been common knowledge that in a low snow year, without the insulation from the snow, the town's water could freeze.
“The town hasn't done anything,” she said.
Johnson said the water district crews were excavating down to the main Thursday afternoon in order to get more information about the water pressure and where the specific problem is located. Once they can learn that, then they can decide what the immediate fixes might be.
Some options include adding a water heater to the beginning of the process at the plant so the water running through the main is warm, and another option is to install a recirculating pump near the freeze point, Montoya said.
Johnson said those might be options, but she said there might be other options, too.
“We don't want anybody out of water — neither does the town,” Johnson said. “We really understand how frustrated people are. We all expect water to be there 24/7, but there are just inherent difficulties with the system in Red Cliff and with the geology of Red Cliff.”
Johnson said the town has worked hard to get some good grants to help improve its water system over the years and has done a good job, but obviously more money needs to be spent.
The town of Avon has offered Red Cliff residents the use of the Avon Recreation Center showers during the outage, and Eagle County has provided drinking water.
Community Editor Lauren Glendenning can be reached at 970-748-2983 or lglendenning@vaildaily.com.
The problem began about 10 days ago and is the result of several factors — the town's bedrock geology, a shallow water main, warm temperatures in December and January, and a low snowpack have all come together to create a recipe for this disaster.
The water lines in Red Cliff were upgraded sometime in the last 20 years, said Diane Johnson, spokeswoman for the Eagle River Water and Sanitation District, the town's contracted water provider. The lines aren't all that old, but the problem is that some of the town's water lines are shallow, Johnson said.
Residents began noticing water problems in late January — pressure was lighter for some residents, while some residents weren't getting water at all, said resident Barb Bomier.
“We all woke up this morning with no water,” Bomier said Thursday.
The water district had crews in Red Cliff Wednesday night who worked through the night and throughout Thursday trying to detect where the exact problem — frozen water in the pipe — was located. They determined that the main kink point is somewhere in a stretch of the line that is about a mile long. It's also the stretch of line that connects the water plant to the town before branching off into other lines, which is why all the households in town have lost water.
Since the town of Red Cliff owns its water system and contracts with the water district to run it, the town has to cover the costs for such a disaster, not water district taxpayers.
With just 140-odd customer accounts in Red Cliff paying into the pot, it doesn't add up to much money.
Red Cliff Mayor Ramon Montoya said the declaration of an emergency will provide assistance for the problem, and the problem could also qualify for emergency funds at the state level, he said.
“The first step was declaring a state of emergency, which as I understand, means we look at county disaster funds and then look to the state,” Montoya said.
A similar problem happened about two years ago when water in the Red Cliff lines started freezing. That was a low snow year early on, leaving the lines more susceptible to freeze because of a lack of snow, which provides insulation.
But that case was viewed as an anomaly, Montoya said. It was a different kind of winter, and the town made some adjustments to its bleeders, which keep water flowing through the pipes to prevent freezing, at that time. That solved the problem the rest of that winter and then there were no problems last winter, a record snow year.
But without the insulation from the snow this year, and with shallow mains that can't be put any deeper without blasting out the bedrock that lies beneath, the freezing is happening again.
“They should have known,” said resident Lee Smith, blaming what he calls a dysfunctional town government for not stopping the problem before it started.
Bomier said it's been common knowledge that in a low snow year, without the insulation from the snow, the town's water could freeze.
“The town hasn't done anything,” she said.
Johnson said the water district crews were excavating down to the main Thursday afternoon in order to get more information about the water pressure and where the specific problem is located. Once they can learn that, then they can decide what the immediate fixes might be.
Some options include adding a water heater to the beginning of the process at the plant so the water running through the main is warm, and another option is to install a recirculating pump near the freeze point, Montoya said.
Johnson said those might be options, but she said there might be other options, too.
“We don't want anybody out of water — neither does the town,” Johnson said. “We really understand how frustrated people are. We all expect water to be there 24/7, but there are just inherent difficulties with the system in Red Cliff and with the geology of Red Cliff.”
Johnson said the town has worked hard to get some good grants to help improve its water system over the years and has done a good job, but obviously more money needs to be spent.
The town of Avon has offered Red Cliff residents the use of the Avon Recreation Center showers during the outage, and Eagle County has provided drinking water.
Community Editor Lauren Glendenning can be reached at 970-748-2983 or lglendenning@vaildaily.com.
