Filtered groundwater use begins Monday in Fountain

Four filters supplied by the Air Force will allow Fountain residents this week to resume using groundwater that was found to be contaminated by firefighting chemicals more than two years ago.

Two filters were tested Monday and the other two are scheduled to be in operation next month.

The test had to be stopped, however, after the filtering system produced too much pressure, ruptured some seals and sprang a leak.

“We’ll try again (Tuesday),” said Curtis Mitchell, director of Fountain Utilities. “We only have one more set of seals, so we want to make sure we figure out what caused the problem before we risk rupturing the other seals.

Since the contamination from a firefighting foam at Peterson Air Force Base was discovered in the fall of 2015, the city stopped using water from its underground aquifer and began using surface water from the Pueblo Reservoir.

The filters cost around $700,000 to reduce the amount of the three most dangerous chemicals to well below levels deemed safe by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The filtering agent is a sandy, charcoal-like material that is inserted into the tanks.

But, according to research last year by the Colorado School of Mines, the same filters didn’t do well in reducing the levels of more than two dozen other chemicals.

“We know that customers will choose to use bottled water for drinking and cooking, as they have been,” Mitchell said. “But we want them to know we’ve tested the filtering system and the water is safe.”

City officials estimate that only 15 percent of the city’s water usage will come from the aquifer on peak days, and that groundwater is needed to supplement the surface water supply.

Many residents remain skeptical about the water quality, fearing that they’ve been exposed to the contamination for years.

“I don’t want to (play) guinea pig (with) my family,” said Emily Wilson, of Fountain. “Maybe if they put out some more information about how clean the water is, I’d be willing to try it.”

Another Fountain resident, Shelley Igo, is willing.

“I’d like to try it for a while and see if it’s good,” she said. “If it is, that would be wonderful because I’ve been using bottled water for a long time.”

Mitchell said the water will be tested weekly and quality information will be shared with customers.

The contamination also affects two nearby communities. Widefield resumed using the aquifer last year after installing a new water treatment system, while Security continues to avoid groundwater and use Pueblo Reservoir water.

On Monday, some of those residents said they don’t trust their groundwater yet.

“I just don’t know if (filters) are going to work or not,” said Bill Dyer, of Security. “There’s going to be a lot of questions asked.”

All three affected communities are working with the Air Force on plans for long-term water treatment.