A tub used in anodizing aluminum parts fills with metal-heavy water. Courtesy Qualtek Manufacturing Inc.
An average of 38 million gallons of wastewater flow into Colorado Springs Utilities wastewater treatment plants every single day, but that doesnât mean anything can be flushed down the drain.
Of the 144,000 customers sending liquid waste into those systems, Colorado Springs Utilities identifies 27 as âsignificant industrial usersâ (SIUs), many of which handle toxic metals in their day-to-day operations. Depending on their location, waste from SIUs can be sent to one of two processing plants in Colorado Springs: the J.D. Phillips Water Resource Recovery Facility or the Las Vegas Street Water Resource Recovery Facility.Â
The ordinance change reduces the 7.5-acre parkland requirement to 5.5 acres for new residential developments. Helen Robinson
With so many people making use of city parkland over the past year to escape the doldrums of the pandemic, it comes as no surprise that some members of Colorado Springs City Council are taking heat this month after approving an ordinance that allows developers to dedicate less land for it in the future.Â
Since the 1970s, developers in Colorado Springs have been required to dedicate 7.5 acres of parkland per 1,000 residents for new residential developments, but City Council voted 5-4 at a regular meeting Feb. 9 to cut that down to 5.5 acres, while almost doubling the fees developers must pay per acre if they cannot meet that requirement. The parks department then must use that money to add or enhance parkland in the same area.
The Caffeinated Cow is quickly becoming a multigenerational family business.
Jake Norment, owner of the coffee and ice cream joint, believes one of his five children will take over the family enterprise, following in his and his wife Harmonyâs footsteps.Â
âWe have five kids total and three of them are currently in college,â he said. âI believe the one that would follow in our footsteps is our youngest. The little one is like our twin; anything that we do, he wants to do. For instance, we just came back from Florida and when we were going to and from, our son was telling everybody about our shop. Heâs only 4. It was adorable and great publicity.âÂ
Public Health is encouraging precautions so the county can continue moving toward Level Blue. Helen Robinson
Battling COVID-19 on many fronts has enabled El Paso County to move down a level on the stateâs dial framework.
The county, which had been at the Orange: High Risk level since November, moved to Yellow: Concern on Feb. 6. That allowed businesses to open up to more clients and customers.Â
Business compliance with safety guidelines has been key to the improvement, state and local officials said, and continued vigilance will help the countyâs disease metrics drop and lead to easing of restrictions.
A drainage channel next to Doherty High School before the city improved it in 2019. Pam Zubeck
Colorado Springs officials want to continue their aggressive campaign to overhaul the cityâs drainage system, and that will take more money. A lot more.
On Feb. 8, two options were outlined for raising existing stormwater fees to fund millions of dollars in projects, largely due to the cityâs settlement of an Environmental Protection Agency lawsuit. That consent decree calls for the city to spend $45 million in the next 15 years to stem flows and reduce pollution of waterways from runoff.
While the city looks to raise stormwater rates by up to 70 percent in the next three years to generate that cash, though, itâs also recrafting development and zoning rules to increase âlot coverageâ in new subdivisions. That means bigger homes with greater impervious surfaces that yield more runoff.