Sally Kribs, Editor skribs@wrightwater.com

Wright Water Engineers, Inc. www.wrightwater.com 2490 West 26th Ave., Ste. 100 A Denver, CO 80211 303.480.1700 Glenwood Springs Office 818 Colorado Ave. Glenwood Springs, CO 81602 970.945.7755 Durango Office 1666 N. Main St., Ste. C Durango, CO 81301 970.259.7411 Waste Engineering, Inc. www.wasteengineeringinc.com 2490 West 26th Ave., Ste. 100 A Denver, CO 80211 303.433.2788

Inside this issue:

Highlands Ranch Stormwater Management Plan

2

Cherry Creek Reservoir Destratification/Aeration System

3

Iowa Stormwater Education Partnership Webinar

3

WWE Gears up for Annual CASFM Conference

4

Construction Dewatering in Trinidad, Colorado

5

Wetlands and Waters of the U.S. in Larkspur, Colorado

5

Boulder Oilfield—McKenzie Well

6

September 2019

Wright Water Engineers, Inc. Waste Engineering, Inc.

Both assessments included research into permitted wells and water rights on or associated with the properties. WWE also performed an analysis of the available Denver Basin groundwater in the aquifers underlying the properties, including research to assess whether that groundwater had been separated from the properties.

Finally, Gary generated estimates for the likely cost to construct water supply wells to access and deliver this groundwater to the surface for proposed future uses.

Senior Hydrogeologist Gary Witt completed two assignments for clients seeking planning assessments regarding the availability and quantity of Denver Basin aquifer groundwater on properties. Both parcels were in Douglas County.

In one case, the client was interested in groundwater as part of due diligence prior to purchasing the property. In the second case, the client needed more information about their groundwater to facilitate joining an existing water provider’s service area.

Low-head Dam Presentation at Denver Fire Station #1

Groundwater Planning Assessments

tips for water rescues at low-head dams when a dangerous submerged hydraulic jump (reverse roller) is present.

The firemen treated Ken and Karl to a delicious “firehouse lunch.”

On August 26, Ken Wright and Karl Kingery gave a presentation to the Denver Firehouse #1 water rescue team on water safety at low-head dams.

The busy emergency crew was out on a call when Ken and Karl arrived and, half an hour later, the presentation needed to be put on hold during a second emergency response!

Ken and Karl were delighted to share their knowledge of low-head dam hydraulics and the conditions under which low-head dams can become deadly. They also gave the firefighters

Ken Wright and Karl Kingery of WWE with Technician Ben Soderfelt and Lieutenant

Kurt Buhler of Denver Fire Department Engine 1–Water Rescue.

Page 2

The above three photos show an edge-of-

field monitoring site on a farm in Berthoud,

Colorado, that the WQCC toured in August.

Look at all of the trash WWE's Scott

Schreiber and Drake Ludwig helped to

clean up during the Glenwood Springs

RiverFest last month! WWE was pleased to

be a sponsor of the event.

Edge-of-Field Monitoring in Berthoud

enjoyed this field trip since it relates to work that WWE, CSU, and Geosyntec Consultants are currently focused on for the Agricultural BMP Database project.

WWE has been working on the Agricultural BMP Database project since 2012 and hopes to upload more Colorado-based data in the future. CSU researchers Troy Bauder and Nora Flynn are also working with WWE on the agricultural BMP database.

The Colorado Water Quality Control Commission, (WQCC) including WWE’s Jane Clary, visited an edge-of-field monitoring site on a farm in Berthoud, Colorado, in August. Colorado State University (CSU) researcher Erik Wardle provided an overview of the monitoring approach and equipment used at the site.

Agricultural researchers and producers, state regulators, and point source dischargers interested in nutrient trading programs all need field data related to agricultural best management practice(BMP) performance. Jane particularly

review. WWE’s Scott Schreiber is one of the engineers mentioned on the R2Cross interface for his assistance in testing the model, along with WWE colleague Brian Bledsoe and several other streamflow experts.

Scott used the R2Cross model to evaluate instream flow for Deep Creek. He thinks the update and online platform are good improvements.

Congratulations go to CWCB for finalizing this important tool!

The Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) recently finalized a new platform for its flow quantification model, R2Cross. The R2Cross model is used to calculate the minimum required water quantity for reasonably healthy ecosystems (aka instream flow rights). This calculation can be a challenging task due to hydraulic conditions, ecological criteria, and socioeconomic considerations.

The R2Cross model is now hosted on Colorado State University’s eRAMS platform and has undergone significant

Instream Flow Quantification Model

trenching work. The SWMP will help to identify stormwater control measures that will be implemented as a part of the project to control the potential for erosion and sediment transport and to manage other potential pollutants associated with the work.

WWE would like to thank Shontel Piazza of Villalobos for the opportunity to work on this project.

Jennifer Keyes, Lily Montesano, and Andrew Earles are happy to be working with Villalobos Construction on a stormwater management plan (SWMP) for utility work in Highlands Ranch. This work involves approximately 1.64 miles of installation of fiber optic line for CenturyLink.

The project starts at Wildcat Reserve Parkway and runs to Santa Fe Drive. The project will involve both boring and

Highlands Ranch Stormwater Management Plan

Page 3

On August 2, WWE staff members enjoyed

our annual company outing to see the

Rockies play at Coors Field. The pleasant

evening was made all the better when the

Rockies squeaked out a 5–4 victory against

the San Francisco Giants!

Cherry Creek Reservoir Destratification/Aeration System

dissolved oxygen and chlorophyll α levels.

This reservoir has challenging mixing and size constraints, which have led WWE to consider further innovative and customized solutions.

The CCBWQA has asked WWE to make a short presentation in mid-September to share insights on the design process and recommendations.

WWE’s Wayne Lorenz and Gouthami Sunku are pleased to work with the Cherry Creek Basin Water Quality Authority (CCBWQA) on the Cherry Creek Reservoir Destratification/Aeration System Study.

The CCBWQA has invested extensive resources in the Cherry Creek Reservoir aeration system, however, they have been unable to reliably meet their water quality goals. Wayne Lorenz and Gouthami Sunku are working on developing two possible system alternatives to better meet the required

effort related to the Mayor’s Denver Green Infrastructure Implementation Strategy. Jane Clary and Andrew Earles helped support this effort, working with Denver’s Sara Anderson.

For more on Denver’s Green Infrastructure program, see https://www.denvergov.org/content/denvergov/en/wastewater-management/stormwater-quality/green-infrastructure/implementation.html.

After a dry month, Denver finally got enough rain on August 21 to trigger new stormwater samplers at a bioretention site in downtown Denver.

WWE’s Dr. Chris Olson has been working with Jon Novick and others at the City and County of Denver to instrument the site and conduct stormwater sampling.

Stormwater sampling at new bioretention sites is part of a larger

It Rained!

Iowa Stormwater Education Partnership Webinar

Resources Institute of ASCE. Following the committee’s ASCE-published book, Cost of Maintaining Green Infrastructure, additional work to develop a cost database has continued.

To access operation and maintenance activity and cost reporting protocols and an initially populated cost database, visit http://www.bmpdatabase.org/.

WWE’s Jane Clary and Ruth Hocker of the City of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, co-presented a stormwater webinar for the Iowa Stormwater Education Partnership in August. The webinar focused on the cost of maintaining stormwater green infrastructure and practical lessons learned by the City of Lancaster.

Jane, Ruth, and Holly Piza of Mile High Flood District have been working together for several years as part of the Municipal Water Infrastructure Council of the Environmental and Water

Cost of Maintaining Green Infrastructure is

available at https://ascelibrary.org/

ebooks.

WWE extends our sympathies to the family

and colleagues of legendary Denver water

attorney Bob Trout, who passed away in

August. Funeral details can be found at:

https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/

denverpost/obituary.aspx?n=robert-

trout&pid=193719769.

Page 4

Lily Montesano

Jamie Akens and Wayne Lorenz of WWE

with Pompeii Director Massimo Osanna last

June.

Librarian Patti Pinson spotted this young

bear in August while hiking to Diamond

Lake north of Eldora. Mama Bear was not

spotted, much to the relief of Patti and her

fellow hikers.

High Flood District. For this presentation, we will be joined by our colleagues from the City of Durango to share their experiences with their recent criteria manual update.

Jane and Chris will give a presentation on lessons learned from E. coli assessments in a variety of watersheds including long-term work by Jane in the Big Dry Creek watershed and current work by Jane and Chris in the Poudre River watershed.

Finally, Drake Ludwig of WWE’s Glenwood Springs office is the newly elected CASFM representative for the northwest region. Drake will attend the Annual Conference to participate in the CASFM board meeting and better get to know his fellow officers.

WWE is looking forward to the Colorado Association of Stormwater and Floodplain Managers (CASFM) Annual Conference in Crested Butte from September 24–28. WWE is a corporate member of CASFM, and 15 of our staff are members of the organization.

For the 2019 Annual Conference, Andrew Earles and Chris Olson will teach a short course to provide tips to municipal reviewers who need to review submittals based on the stormwater management model (SWMM).

Andrew, Jane Clary, and Hayes Lenhart will present a paper related to updating storm drainage criteria manuals based on the latest guidance from the Mile

WWE Gears Up for Annual CASFM Conference

Lily Montesano is New WWE Water Resources Specialist

degree in environmental science and a B.A. degree in economics. She is a Certified Inspector of Sediment and Erosion Control.

Lily said, “I am thrilled to join the team here at Wright Water and I look forward to building my knowledge of resource management within this team of remarkable professionals.”

WWE is pleased to welcome Water Resources Specialist Lily Montesano to our team. Lily has five years of experience in construction stormwater compliance and will assist project manager Jennifer Keyes with this burgeoning area of work for utility and municipal clients.

Lily graduated with honors from the University of Denver, earning a B.S.

Pompeii’s New Treasures

unexamined portion of Pompeii. New finds have included beautiful frescoes and mosaics that represent great stories and ancient myths.

Director Osanna has been a supporter of WWE’s Pompeii research for the past few years. He has promised WWE access to these new discoveries during planned Pompeii research in 2020.

Thanks to Professor Massimo Osanna, General Director of Pompeii, new and exciting finds are coming to light. For instance, a newly-found charcoal-inscribed note on a shop wall tells us that Pompeii’s last day as a thriving city was October 17, AD 79, not August 24, as many have long believed.

Director Osanna has allowed new archaeological digs in a previously

Page 5

Purgatoire River near Trinidad, Colorado

Remote Sensing Paper by Collar et al.

The research was conducted under Jeff Dozier, the project’s Principal Investigator and one of the co-founders of UCSB’s Bren School. The project was partially funded through a NASA grant, among other funding partners.

WWE Water Resources Scientist Natalie Collar is a co-author of a paper published last month on discriminating between snow and clouds in passive optical satellite images. This paper is based on work Natalie did, separate from her thesis, during her master’s at University of California Santa Barbara (USCB) from 2013–2015.

Construction Dewatering in Trinidad, Colorado

direction, and to perform a pumping test to obtain aquifer permeability information needed to estimate groundwater inflow to the excavation. Water quality may also be a factor in the dewatering process because the discharge will need to meet stream standards.

WWE will assist with obtaining a required discharge permit from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

Planning is currently underway for a new Hilton Garden Inn near the center of Trinidad, Colorado. Gary Witt and Andrew Earles are working with architect Bruce Barr of Art C. Klein Construction, Inc., of Colorado Springs regarding the need for construction dewatering. The site is located along the Purgatoire River.

Plans are underway to construct three to five monitoring wells to assess the groundwater elevation and flow

Centrifuge Evaluation

are developing needed information on alternatives for replacing the existing centrifuge.

Project manager Wayne Lorenz and project engineer Eric Bodine appreciate the opportunity to help improve the overall performance of the existing WWTF.

WWE is reviewing the operational performance of an existing centrifuge in a Colorado wastewater treatment facility (WWTF). The operator of the WWTF believes the centrifuge needs to be replaced to treat both current and future wastewater flows.

WWE’s evaluation includes the existing treatment capacity of the WWTF. We

provide early indications of known sensitive species and historic/cultural properties within the parcel.

Drew Maraglia is conducting the fieldwork and will provide guidance to the landowner during the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Jurisdictional Determination process.

WWE is conducting an aquatic resources delineation for a private landowner in Larkspur, Colorado. WWE’s assessment will be used by the landowner to avoid or minimize impacts to aquatic resources during the design process. Other important goals of the assessment are to document aquatic resource boundary determination for review by regulatory authorities and to

Wetlands and Waters of the U.S. in Larkspur, Colorado

Jon Jones took this photo to commemorate

engineer Haley Rogers' first day in the field

after she joined WWE in July. Jon and Haley

were conducting ecological fieldwork for a

client in the northern U.S. Here's to a long

and productive field research career, Haley!

The remote sensing paper can be viewed at:

https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1

029/2019WR024932.

Leadville 100

Jane Clary reports that Turquoise Lake outside of Leadville is a favorite camping location for her family and a great spot to watch the Perseid meteor shower.

While camping at Turquoise Lake in mid-August, Jane had the opportunity to cheer on long-distance runners in the night during the Leadville 100. Fortunately

for the runners, the moon was full. The Leadville Trail 100 Run is an ultramarathon held annually on trails and dirt roads near Leadville, Colorado,

through the heart of the Rocky Mountains, with elevations ranging from 9,200 to 12,620 feet.

Main Office:

2490 West 26th Avenue

Suite 100A

Denver, CO 80211

Phone: 303.480.1700

Fax: 303.480.1020

E-mail: skribs@wrightwater.com

Wright Water Engineers, Inc. Waste Engineering, Inc.

Congratulations to Ken Wright, who

received this handsome medal for coming

in first in the 80+ age group during the

Pearl Street Mile run in Boulder on

August 10.

Surface water. Groundwater. Wright Water.

www.wrightwater.com www.wasteengineeringinc.com

Main Office:

2490 West 26th Avenue

Suite 100A

Denver, CO 80211

Phone: 303.480.1700

Fax: 303.480.1020

E-mail: skribs@wrightwater.com

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Microplastics Pollution in Rainwater Samples at 10,000 Feet

Historic Places. The first well was pumped for more than one hundred years, however, it was plugged in 2007 due to low production levels.

The remains of the 1901 McKenzie Well proudly signal the importance of one of the earliest oil discoveries in the Rocky Mountain West.

The McKenzie Well in the Boulder Oilfield was first drilled in 1901 and it is now a City of Boulder landmark. One hundred and twenty years ago, the Boulder Oilfield turned the city into a temporary boom town and the well quickly became a tourist attraction.

Thanks go to WWE friend Karl Anuta who helped get the McKenzie Well placed on the National Register of

Boulder Oilfield—McKenzie Well

but not in rainwater and snow from remote locations. This new finding raises questions about microplastics in food chains and their effect on the ecosystem as a whole.

Greg Wetherbee will continue USGS’s investigation into the important issue of nitrogen pollution, but the presence of microplastics in remote areas is now a new focus of research.

WWE alumnus Greg Wetherbee is now a research chemist with the United States Geological Survey (USGS). His team was studying nitrogen deposition in rainwater and snow at Rocky Mountain National Park when they found something unexpected in the samples—microplastics.

The presence of microplastics might be anticipated in urban rainwater and snow,

Turquoise Lake near Leadville, Colorado