Ophir's 2010 Waterfall Canyon Water Project

Ophir, CO -- The Colorado Water Resources and Power Development Authority (CWRPDA) has recently approved the Town of Ophir's request for a $500,000 loan at a zero percent interest rate via the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to support planned improvements to Ophir's water system. In addition to federal stimulus funds, Ophir has also been awarded approximately $390,000 in grant funds for the water project through the Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA). At the December 15th Ophir General Assembly meeting, the Town approved a construction contract to Reams Construction based in Naturita, CO to complete the project. Project engineering was completed by Drexel, Barrell. Ophir applied for federal stimulus funds back in April, working through Telluride Energy, a local consulting and project development firm, which prepared the Town's application for federal stimulus funding. "We are grateful to be receiving support from federal and state governments for our water project," said Ophir Town Manager Randy Barnes. "It's awesome that even tiny communities like Ophir can benefit from federal stimulus dollars." The improvements to Ophir's water system will include the following: 1)Construction of a new water infiltration gallery adjacent to the existing diversion on Waterfall Creek. 2)Construction of a new water treatment facility with upgrades to the treatment and filtration mechanisms. 3)Installation of an additional 35,000-gallon storage tank in East Ophir to improve the town's challenged treated water storage capacity and to bolster fire suppression capability. The principal component of the proposed project is a return to using Waterfall Creek as the Town's primary water supply, due to concerns about the existing water system, which is based on groundwater from Warner Springs on the north side of Town. As part of the new project, Waterfall Creek will become the Town's primary water source, with Warner Springs available as a back-up source.

Water System Preliminary Engineering Report

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