New fire district safety campus not exactly surrounded by wishing wells

Slow flows slightly push back timeline

[  By Mark Reaman  ]

At first glance, the lack of good water would not seem to be an issue for the new Crested Butte Fire Protection District (CBFPD) fire hall and safety campus just north of the Crested Butte town boundary near the cemetery. The new facilities are being constructed next to a wetland and a literal stone’s throw away from the Slate River. But that doesn’t mean much when drilling for a well and the CBFPD is dealing with the unfortunate reality of low water flows from the drilling explorations. But fear not—there is a plan.

The district has drilled four test wells and according to CBFPD chief executive officer Sean Caffrey, none were ideal. He said that well number one did not have the greatest flow rate but was otherwise fine. Wells number two and four had the same fine black sand problem that would have made treatment expensive. The first well pumped between six and eight gallons per minute which is less than the normal minimum rate expected of at least 10 gallons per minute.

“As such we have determined our best course of action is to proceed with well number one and add an off-the-shelf 1,500-gallon storage cistern near that well to make sure we have an adequate daily use storage buffer to account for the slower flow rate. The well has a consistent flow rate of about six to eight gallons per minute,” he said.

While Caffrey said they were hoping for at least a water flow of 10 gallons per minute, the fact the water is meant for domestic use allows for some leeway. “We are talking just domestic use, and we are providing a suitable buffer for that. The engineers estimate 1,400 gallons per day of use so that gives us over a day in reserve (with the storage cistern),” he said. “We will use a standard cistern for pre-treated potable water. Treatment will occur inside the building.”

The district also has a separate 25,000-gallon tank for fire suppression purposes as part of the fire hall. When asked if other, private developments would be able to provide a similar solution to such a water issue, Caffrey said that would be the case. “Our requirements would only relate to the fire suppression storage which we have intentionally overbuilt by about 7,000 gallons in order to have a readily available supply for both our sprinkler system and our tanker trucks in the event we have a nearby fire not served by fire hydrants and need to move water to it,” he explained.

“In addition to the domestic water storage, we already have a filled 25,000-gallon tank for fire suppression sprinklers and emergency use,” Caffrey emphasized. “Our timeline is extending out a bit; however, we still expect to be in the building sometime in October with the training building lagging behind by a few weeks.”