Peterson water report released Published June 11, 2013 By 21st Medical Group Bioenvironmental Engineering Flight PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. -- Colorado Springs Utilities supplies drinking water to Peterson AFB. Base personnel can get the facts about the water they drink from the recently released CSU - 2013 Water Quality Report. This report (reporting period Jan. 1 -Dec. 31, 2012) informs the public about the water quality and services CSU delivers to the base every day. CSU staff, as well as the 21st Medical Group's Bioenvironmental Engineering Flight, test the water consumed throughout the base. Throughout the process of collection, treatment and distribution, certified water treatment plant operators and laboratory staff monitor the water quality for its chemical and biological content. Some of these analyses are required to meet state and federal standards, while others are part of ongoing testing to assure a continual supply of high quality drinking water. CSU employees test the water at treatment plants and throughout the CSU water distribution system. Bioenvironmental engineering tests water at 10 different sampling locations per month for microbiological contamination that could occur in the Peterson section of the distribution system. The Peterson sample sites include the dining facility, the Exchange food court, aircraft watering points and the child development centers. All microbiological samples collected in 2012 were analyzed by El Paso County Public Health laboratory and reported safe. In August 2012, bioenvironmental engineering collected annual lead and copper drinking water samples from the Peterson child development centers and youth activities center using Environmental Protection Agency protocols. All lead results were well within EPA standards. One copper sample from the youth center exceeded the EPA secondary maximum contaminate level (non-mandatory guidelines for aesthetic considerations such as taste, color or odor) from older copper pipes, but the copper is immediately eliminated after running the cold water for two to three seconds. The kitchen staff runs the cold water for one to two minutes upon arrival each morning, ensuring the water is safe to drink, and the 21st CES Maintenance Engineering flight has initiated a work order to develop a mitigation project for the youth activities center. Nearly 75 percent of the water provided by CSU originates from many mountain streams (surface water). Water from these streams is collected and stored in various reservoirs along the Continental Divide. The collection systems in this area consist of the Homestake, Fryingpan-Arkansas, Twin Lakes, and Blue River systems. The majority of this water is transferred to Colorado Springs through pipelines that protect the water from contaminants, such as herbicides, pesticides, heavy metals and other chemicals. Water delivered to Colorado Springs is stored at Rampart Reservoir and at the Catamount reservoirs on Pikes Peak, which then supply the CSU water treatment plants. Local surface water sources are from the north and south slopes of Pikes Peak, North and South Cheyenne Creeks, Fountain Creek, Monument Creek/Pikeview Reservoir, and the Northfield Watershed. CSU purchases treated surface water from the Fountain Valley Authority (FVA, PWSID # CO0121300). FVA receives water from the Fryingpan-Arkansas Project. The Fryingpan-Arkansas Project is a system of pipes and tunnels that collects water in the Hunter-Fryingpan Wilderness Area near Aspen. Waters collected from the system are diverted to the Arkansas River, near Buena Vista, and then flow approximately 150 miles downstream to the Pueblo Reservoir, and then on to the water treatment plant. The source water may vary during the year and may be a blend of surface water and purchased water. To view the complete 2013 Water Quality Report, visit www.csu.org, and click on Residential/Community/Water Quality/ 2013 Water Quality Report (reporting year 2012). Customers without web access can obtain a hard copy of the report at the Bioenvironmental Engineering office located in building 1246. The report will also be available in all base dormitory facilities. For questions concerning water quality issues in the Tierra Vista Community distribution system, call the TVC Facility Maintenance Department at 597-5950. For more information about Peterson Air Force Base water quality, call Michael Puleo at 556-7721. (Water quality information courtesy of Colorado Springs Utilities and 21st SW Bioenvironmental Engineering flight.)