Water Quality & Treatment
Take a moment to consider that the total volume of water on our planet has remained the same for several billions of years. The vast majority of this water is on the Earth's surface and over 98 percent is saline water in the oceans. But it is the freshwater resources, such as the water in streams, rivers, lakes, and groundwater that provide people with most of the water they need everyday to live. The natural water cycle, also known as the hydrologic cycle, describes the continuous movement of water on, above, and below the surface of the Earth. The water we use everyday is a part of Earth’s water cycle and is continually recycled. When we use water we are, essentially, diverting it from its natural cycle and then, in short order, returning it back to the environment. Ideally, we return our wastewater into the natural cycle with minimum effects.
Homes and businesses receive clean water, made possible with drinking water treatment technology. This water is then delivered to homes and businesses through a network of pipes called a distribution system. Treatment processes vary depending on whether surface or groundwater is used, and the quality of the source water. The Eagle River Water & Sanitation District (District) and the Upper Eagle Regional Water Authority (Authority) are committed to providing safe, reliable drinking water to the communities they serve.
Drinking water treatment facilities use a combination of treatment processes appropriate for the treatment of raw water, which may contain small amounts of impurities from natural and human sources. Such treatment processes are designed to produce drinking water quality that typically exceeds standards set forth in the Safe Drinking Water Act.
On Average, Americans use about 50 to 100 gallons of water in the household each day. Once the water is used, it is termed "wastewater" and is composed of water along with biological solids, dirt, soaps, food, grease and anything else that gets “dumped” down the drain. Wastewater from households and businesses travels into a network of underground pipes, called a collection system, which directs it to a facility for treatment. Whether you know it or not, with each water-related activity you do in and around your home, you create wastewater and have the potential to harm the water quality for someone diverting the water for use downstream. Making informed water choices, both inside and outside of the home, makes water treatment less expensive and more efficient and perhaps more importantly, improves the quality of life and the environment. Drinking water is often obtained from the same waterways that receive wastewater discharges. So your attention to the proper disposal of toxic chemicals will help protect not only the health of downstream users, but also the aquatic environment.
The District manages and operates three wastewater treatment facilities and one biosolids containment facility. Wastewater treatment facilities remove pollutants from municipal wastewater making it safe to return back to the environment. Wastewater is pumped into a wastewater treatment plant, screened, aerated, settled, and sanitized through a series of treatment processes. The final product of wastewater treatment is effluent, which may be discharged into a nearby creek, river or other source water. Wastewater effluent quality is analyzed and monitored to make certain that it meets, or exceeds, water quality standards set forth in the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Water Act. Biosolids, a by-product of the wastewater treatment process, contain the organic components removed from wastewater and can be used as a soil amendment for some land applications such as landscaping. Once wastewater is treated and is safe to return to the water cycle, it moves downstream for another community to use. Therefore, it is essential that it be first treated in such a way so as to protect the environment and human health.
Water is a renewable, but limited resource. It is renewable because the same amount of water is perpetually passing through the water, or hydrologic, cycle. It is limited because a very small percentage of the Earth’s fresh water is available in liquid form. We are well aware that life depends on water to exist. But, to better understand water on a local scale, it is important to focus on the watershed. Here in the Vail Valley, our watersheds consist largely of the high altitude alpine land areas that feed the Gore Creek and the Eagle River. Unfortunately, these pristine and balanced watersheds are not immune to the impacts of human activity and natural disturbances. The protection of our standard of living, quality of life, and health of our wildlife habitats and ecosystems is dependent on effective water resource management. The District and Authority recognize this with a commitment to watershed health and protection. Realizing effective resource management is made possible through forging partnerships with other watershed stakeholders to study, monitor, manage and protect one of our most precious of resources – water.