FORT CARSON, Colo. -- Watering needs for Fort Carson's sports complex and Iron Horse Park turf areas will be met through an expanded reclaimed water system when the valves are turned on in mid-April 2015.
This past year Fort Carson expanded the system, which has been used to irrigate Cheyenne Shadows Golf Course on Fort Carson since the 1970s, to reuse as much treated wastewater as possible for large landscaped areas.
The project is the installation's largest-scale Net Zero water initiative to date and could save close to 90 percent of the annual irrigation water costs instead of using drinking water, said Vince Guthrie, Directorate of Public Works (DPW) Operations and Maintenance Division Utility Program manager.
The expansion effort entailed upgrading 5 miles of existing pipe, installing close to 2.3 miles of new lines to the system, adding new pumps at the waste water treatment plant, building a new booster pump station and increasing the size of the storage pond at the golf course, which will now be able to store up to 16 million gallons of water.
Ultimately, the desired outcome of the reclaimed water system expansion effort is to use 100 percent -- roughly 200 million gallons during watering season -- of Fort Carson's treated wastewater for irrigation of priority turf areas, which will eventually include Founders Field, Pershing Field and near Gate 1.
People should not be alarmed that Fort Carson is watering the grass with reclaimed water, assured Eric Dunker, DPW Environmental Division Water Program consultant. The use of reclaimed water for irrigation is occurring all over Colorado and the United States, he said.
The treated wastewater is safe for watering turf and has gone through an extensive treatment process at Fort Carson's Wastewater Treatment Plant, Dunker noted.
Effluent water generated here is treated and has a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency permit for discharge into Clover Ditch on post, he explained. The water from Clover Ditch empties into Fountain Creek which flows into the Arkansas River at Pueblo. Some of the water in the Arkansas River is used downstream as drinking water after additional treatment.
To use reclaimed water for irrigation, Fort Carson must follow Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment regulations, which include specific monitoring criteria the treatment process must meet. The DPW base operations and maintenance contractor, Fort Carson Support Services, tests the effluent water frequently to ensure it meets the regulatory criteria in order to be used for irrigation.
Before Fort Carson begins using reclaimed water at the sports complex and Iron Horse Park, signs warning people not to drink the reclaimed water will be posted (see graphic).
Most, if not all, of the watering will be done at night when there is minimal chance of the areas being visited by people, said Dunker. Evening watering also maximizes the efficiency of water use at a time when there is less evaporation loss.
As a precaution, people should avoid the spraying water of the irrigation system when the reclaimed water is running. If a person is exposed to the water, he should avoid ingesting it and simply wash with soap and water at his earliest convenience.
Call the DPW Environmental Division at 526-2022 for more information.
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