Water flows an issue at Timberline condos

Problem should be fixed in 10-15 days

Residents in Timberline Condos Building B in Mt. Crested Butte have been noticing that something wasn’t right with the water coming out of the tap. The Mt. Crested Butte Water and Sanitation department was called in to check the exterior water lines and flush the system. The situation doesn’t look (or taste) good.

“People were aware that water coming from the faucet was not what they had before,” said District Manager Frank Glick. “We flushed the [outside] main and didn’t have any problems and figured it had to be in-house. We are not responsible for any interior water lines; all the test samples were fine on our system.”
According to Glick, the issue is a malfunctioning backflow prevention device on the interior that is allowing non-potable water to travel from the fire sprinkler system into the building’s potable water supply.
“Something about that valve is allowing the water to travel in the wrong system,” Glick said on Monday. “We are sending the property owners association a letter to tell them it’s an internal problem. We’ll see what kind of response we get.”
Grant Benton is property manager at Crested Butte Lodging, which manages the Timberline property. He also lives in Timberline B and isn’t drinking the water. Although he said an engineer came through about a month ago and said the water was okay to drink, “I’m assuming it’s not, to be on the safe side.”  
Benton said the Timberline property owners board hired Dynamic Fire Solutions of Montrose to fix the problem. The Water and Sanitation Department is also requiring Timberline to replace the backflow preventer on Building A, since it is out of date, although it isn’t known to be malfunctioning at this time.
According to Benton, Building B’s water problem should be fixed in 10 to 15 days. “I own a condo in that building and I want it fixed,” he added.