We Don't Want Water (In the Wastewater)!
Pumping stations and treatment plants are designed to treat a certain volume. When that volume is exceeded, new facilities need to be constructed which are very costly. That is one of many reasons that pumping excess drainage or crawl space water into the municipal sewer system is strictly prohibited.
PAWSD is beginning to implement a sump pump inspection program whereby, over time the District will require an inspection of all properties receiving wastewater service. This program is necessitated due to the large number of sump 
pumps installed and suspected to be connected to the public sewer system. Although it may seem like a perfectly logical step to connect sump pumps, roof drains, and similar clear water sources to the sewer piping system under homes and businesses, it is illegal, highly problematic, and carries with it possible penalties.
The addition of “clear water” sources like those mentioned above can require a sewer facility to be expanded many years before it would otherwise be needed requiring customers to pay millions of dollars in unnecessary expansion costs. Therefore the need to inspect all properties receiving wastewater service from the District for the presence of sump pumps. The District fully realizes that many people might be
unaware that they even have a sump pump as it may have been installed prior to their purchase of the home. Or possibly owners know they have a sump pump but don’t know where it discharges to. Many of the customers we have talked to recently were simply unaware that it was illegal to connect these pumps to the sewer system and have been very cooperative in having them re-plumbed so they discharge out to their yard.
All PAWSD wastewater customers will soon be receiving a flyer in the mail describing this mandatory inspection program. Knowing that mud season has arrived in Pagosa, District staff will be especially sensitive and careful not to track any dirt or mud into your home or business or to disrupt things in any way. Our goal is to reduce these clear water flows dramatically in our system with cooperation from all of our great customers without assessing any penalties. We realize that many homes are unoccupied at certain times of the year and if this is the case when you get your notice in the mail, please make some type of arrangement to have a responsible adult of your choice available to allow District inspectors access to wherever your sump pump would be if you had one. Once again all wastewater customers must be inspected to confirm the presence or absence of these units. All PAWSD inspectors will carry a photo identification badge on their person while performing these tasks and will not enter the premises unless a responsible adult approves. Depending on the complexity of the crawl space or access, the inspection could take as little as a couple of minutes to 30 minutes. The occupant present during the inspection will receive a copy of the inspection report for their files before the inspector leaves. 
Hi-tech camera and other testing equipment like those shown (right) will be used again this year to locate problems and identify sources. The District is happy to suggest other alternatives that could potentially lower your water bill. You can also check with your local plumber for other ideas on how to deal with this excess water as well. If you have any questions, please give us a call at 731-2691.
The District has instituted this inspection program whereby we will periodically inspect all applicable commercial establishments. Pictured at left is the program tecnnician Emzy Barker. You may not think of a sewer collection system as being healthy, but that is how we must look at it. A healthy sewer system contains only what would normally be found in a sanitary sewer both in quantity and quality. Discharging crawl space water or putting prohibited chemicals into the sewer are good examples of quantity and quality issues that must be addressed. Please read on to learn more.
Another very important issue we are facing is the abundance of grease and other prohibited materials we are seeing come into our facilities. Typically resturants and other food producing establishments as well as businesses who produce sand and grit like automotive shops and maintenance facilities have traps or interceptors that prevent these contaminants from getting into the sewer system. If these devises are not installed or are not maintained properly, costly back-ups can occur and damage to the sewer system can result. The District is revamping its Prohibitive Discharge Program this year and will begin more vigorous enforcement of the Rules and Regulations. Time consuming and costly equipment like the hi pressure cleaning vehicle shown here are required to clean sewer lines that are clogged with grease.
This is a very important program that helps keep our sewer collection system in good shape and will also help keep sewer maintenance costs from escalating. Recent TV inspection and cleaning activities found this sewer manhole and line to be dangerously close to becomming clogged. This may be due to inadequate or non-existant cleaning of commercial grease traps and interceptors. The prohibitive discharge program is intended to identify and correct these problems. 
