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Ongoing Challenges

There are several challenges facing the VDE now and into the future. The initial water system was constructed in 1971 and expanded over the next ten years. The water mains were installed as the community grew, by contractors with primarily a profit motive and few municipal standards for construction. The wastewater system was also installed as the community expanded. Now, many of these water and wastewater mains are five decades old.

Water System Challenges:

  • Leaks or unaccounted-for water loss primarily as a result of the materials used to construct the piping network, as well as the methods of construction. Most of the original saddles were made from cast iron, which has rusted badly over time. The backfill material placed around and over the plastic water mains contain many large boulders.
Saddles
  • Sporadic appearance of discolored water resulting from either operational issues at the treatment plant, or disturbances of legacy iron and/or manganese in the water mains. The system operated for over 25 years before the water treatment plant was expanded in 1998 to include an iron and manganese filter system (shown below). It remains necessary to conduct annual flushing programs of the water mains, and spot flushing as needed.
  • Having a sufficient number of production wells available to meet demand. The yield from sand & gravel wells declines with time, droughts lower the water table, and mechanical pumps and motors fail. There is always a need for redundant sources.
  • Water meter replacements. The VDE has been able to replace the majority of non-functioning household meters. For some residents however, VDE still must estimate usage. As a result, when new meters are installed account adjustments are almost always necessary to reflect the actual usage as calculated from the old meter to the new. Completing the meter upgrade effort remains a high priority, but is complicated by the seasonality of many customer properties.

Wastewater System Challenges:

  • The wastewater system is connected to all condos and some homes. Wastewater is piped via force main or gravity flow to the sewer headworks on Clearwater Drive, where it is treated by aeration and pumped out to holding, or settling, ponds. These connections, facility buildings, and materials will continue to have maintenance and replacement needs.
Holding pond #3
  • Pumps, wet wells, and generators need replacements and maintenance.
  • Removal of accumulated sludge in the aeration lagoons and holding ponds will be required in the foreseeable future.