April 2022

Hello Superior.  Here’s an update on what the Town is doing to address drinking water issues, as well as updates on the debris removal process, upcoming community events, and the election this fall.

Water Update 

As a starting point, I encourage you to read my water update from March 5, which provides an overview of the damage that the Town’s water treatment plant sustained during the Marshall Fire and the steps the Town has taken thus far to fix problems and provide safe drinking water to our residents.

Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) Treatment System

The Town has attempted several different potential solutions which were aimed at reducing/removing the smoky odor and taste in our drinking water.  Unfortunately, none proved to be long-term solutions and many residents continue to have issues with their water.  As a result, on Monday, April 4, 2022, the Town Board unanimously approved an agreement with Evoqua Water Technologies LLC for the installation and rental of a Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) Treatment System at the Town’s water treatment plant. This GAC system includes six — 10 ft. diameter steel vessels — and is designed to remove compounds that are causing the smoky odor and taste issues in our drinking water.  Under the terms of the lease agreement, the Town will rent the GAC system for six months with an option to extend the lease, or purchase the system outright, if necessary and appropriate.  The cost of renting the GAC system for six months is $858,501.  In addition, there will be costs associated with pouring a concrete slab on which the steel vessels will be set and installing additional piping which will bring water from the water treatment plant to the vessels.  These costs are estimated to be up to $500,000.

As the Marshall Fire was an unexpected event, this GAC system is not reflected in the Town’s 2022 budget and will be an unbudgeted-for expense.  However, the Town will be requesting help from FEMA and will also work with Congressman Neguse’s Office and other federal officials to seek assistance from the Federal Government to help pay for this necessary system.   We have also directed Town Staff to seek financial assistance from the State and from Boulder County as well.  I have advocated — and will continue to advocate — that we should NOT raise resident water bills to pay for the GAC system, although that was initially suggested by Town Staff.  From the tenor of the discussion on Monday night, it sounds like a majority of Town Board members are similarly committed to not raising water rates and do not wish to pass this unanticipated cost onto residents.

Town Staff expects that the GAC system will be operational by mid-May (assuming no supply chain issues).

Ash Removal & Reservoir Draining for Irrigation Season

In addition to the GAC System, the Town has also contracted with a firm to remove ash from the banks of the Terminal Reservoir.  This contractor has been hard at work over the past several weeks and has already removed over 60 cubic yards of ash so far.  Their work is currently about 70% complete.  Our Public Works Department has also been working to drop the water levels of the reservoir (and has been draining the reservoir and filling up various ponds throughout Rock Creek which will be used during the coming irrigation season) and that process is exposing additional ash that the contractor is now working on removing.  We expect this work to be completed in the next week or so.  We hope that once fresh water from the Northern Water System supply pipeline refills the reservoir (coupled with the removal of a the significant amount of ash that was deposited in the reservoir during the fire) that the smoky tasting/smelling drinking water problem will be resolved.  To the extent that they are not, we expect the GAC System should take care of any remaining smoky taste/smell issues in our drinking water.

Testing & Bottled Water at the Superior Community Center

The town has tested dozens of individual homes and continues to test our main water supply.  As stated in my last update and according to CDPHE, our water remains safe to drink.  However, I can understand why some residents are not comfortable drinking it just yet.  To help alleviate any concerns, the Town continues to supply free bottled/boxed drinking water at the Superior Community Center.  I can’t stress this enough — the Town Board and Town Staff are committed to finding a solution to our drinking water problems and we will do whatever it takes to ensure that our water is not only safe, but that it is great, and meets the expectations of our residents.  This is a complex problem and unfortunately, the solutions are not quick and there is no easy fix — but we will get our water issues resolved and get our water back to normal.

Debris Removal Schedule

On March 28, 2022, the judge in the Demanding Integrity In Govt. Spending v. Boulder County case  entered an Order denying DIGS’ motion for a preliminary injunction and dismissed the case.  A copy of the judge’s Order available here: Order RE Plaintiff’s Motion For Temporary Restraining Order and Preliminary Injunction.  With the lawsuit challenging the County’s award of the debris removal contract dismissed, DRC (the company chosen by Boulder County for debris removal) has proceeded with mobilizing their crews to begin the Private Property Debris Removal (PPDR) process in Superior, Louisville, and Boulder County.

DRC has submitted their debris removal schedule which can be found here.  We expect DRC to begin removing debris in Superior within 2-3 weeks.  Once work has started, DRC says that they will complete the debris removal (for those who have opted-in to the County-led process) within 4 months.  There will be 15 crews starting initially in Superior, and that number will grow to 30 crews in the following weeks.  Currently, crews have been performing tree inspections with an arborist, installing stormwater protection measures, performing soil sampling, and testing foundations for asbestos, which is necessary to perform before debris removal work can start.

Air Monitoring

I wrote about the Town’s air quality monitoring sensors back in January.  The Town has installed air monitoring sensors in three different locations throughout Town (Town Hall, North Pool, and South Pool).  These monitors measure our air quality in real time.  Real time information from the air sensors can be viewed through Purple Air website.

Recently, additional air monitors have been installed.  VOC sensors have been installed on all three of the Town’s PurpleAir monitors at Town Hall, North Pool, and South Pool.  Please note that the VOC sensors are in beta-version so they are not 100% accurate. Town Staff is also working with Boulder County Public Health to deploy additional sensors in Town. The County anticipates releasing a website to the public which will show the locations and readings of their PM2.5 sensors in the next week or two.

Community Events

We’ve got a ton of events coming up. I encourage you to mark your calendars and participate in as many events as you can. ALL OF US have been deeply impacted by the Marshall Fire and coming together as a community is one way for our community to heal.  I hope to see you at one or more of our upcoming Town sponsored events:

• April 30 – Arbor Day Celebration
• July 4 – Race/Parade/Festival
• September 17 – Chili Fest

Rock Creek Master HOA will be hosting the following events for the 2022 calendar year.

• April 9 – Easter Egg Hunt
• June 17 – Movie Night
• July 15 – Movie Night
• August 19 – Movie Night
• October 1 – Oktoberfest

The Superior Community Center also has daily and weekly events – be sure to check out the new website for Superior Community Center (www.superiorcommunitycenter.com), which launches at 1pm on April 6.

Election Season

This November will be a big election for Superior.  Mayor Clint Folsom is term-limited and 2022 will be his last year as Mayor.  On Election Day (November 8, 2022), we here in Superior will be electing a new Mayor and three Trustees.  If you have ever considered running for public office, now is the time to start thinking about it.  The deadline to make the ballot is in August and not to sound snarky, but if you’re one of those people who constantly complains about Town Board decisions, now is the time to step up and ask the voters for the privilege to do the job yourself.  I’ve now been on the Town Board for 6 years… and it’s been a true honor and a privilege to serve the Superior community, however, it is a lot of work and the job is challenging.

Other Random News

• Thanks to Superior’s Safeway bakery for making this beautiful cake (pictured above).  It really caught our attention and brought joy to my family.
• The grading has started for the Tract H Park and Playground. See my August 2021 blog post for details on Superior’s newest park.
• Element Hotel has applied for a permit to begin demolition and debris cleanup. Once started, it will take 4-6 weeks to complete.
• Purple Park Playground is substantially complete with final inspection set for the next week.  You can see what the Purple Park Playground looks like in the August 2021 blog post.  I hope it ends up being a wonderful community amenity for all to enjoy.