WATER QUALITY ASSESSMENT PROJECTS
Hamilton Creek Metropolitan District - Fluoride Investigations
The Hamilton Creek Metropolitan District was involved in a civil lawsuit focusing on whether historical alterations to the water treatment facility to mitigate reported high levels of fluoride were to be considered as “improvements” or “repairs.”
Martin and Wood provided hydrogeologic consulting and expert witness services pertaining to the limited fluoride data that were available. Analyses were carried out incorporating assessments of the local hydrogeologic conditions, field observations, the nature and occurrence of fluoride in ground water, and review of the water plant upgrades and operations.
During the trial in Summit County District Court, Martin and Wood provided expert testimony that held that the opponent’s claim that the fluoride levels had not been below the disputed threshold level since the end of the last glacial period was without statistical validity or merit.
Town of Georgetown - Georgetown Lake
Due to the 2002 severe drought in Colorado, many towns, cities, and other municipal entities had to conserve and/or come up with additional water resources to respond to the water shortage. The City of Golden, Colorado, has by agreement with the Town of Georgetown, storage of 100 acre-feet of water in Georgetown Lake. Clear Creek flows into Georgetown Lake, in the Town of Georgetown, Colorado, and via a spillway over the dam, flows towards Golden.
During the summer of 2002, the City of Golden asked that Georgetown release its 100 acre-feet of water through a gate located at the bottom of the dam. In the past, the City of Golden did not release its water rights from Georgetown Reservoir because its existing water rights were sufficient to meet the City’s demands. The Town of Georgetown is a historic mining town and consequently Georgetown Lake contains many mine tailings. The Town of Georgetown was reluctant to release water from the bottom of the lake due to concerns over water quality. The City of Golden’s water consultants agreed to take water samples as water was released from the bottom gate to determine if the water quality would be suitable for larger-scale release and downstream use or whether it would potentially contaminate Clear Creek.
The Town of Georgetown hired Martin and Wood to develop a sampling protocol and safe ranges of constituent concentrations and to observe the water sampling procedures undertaken by Golden’s water consultants to ensure that the samples were being collected properly. Martin and Wood also analyzed the water quality report received from the water quality lab and offered its opinion as to whether the quality of the water released from the bottom of Georgetown Reservoir would meet stream standards.
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