HESPERUS – Some La Plata County residents are looking for alternate sources of drinking water after a wastewater treatment system malfunctioned, sending E. coli into the local waterways.

The wastewater treatment system serves Pine Winds Mobile Home Park, where about 60 people live east of the La Plata River and west of Durango. Rivulets of water crisscrossed the community’s main road Monday, flooding its central leach field. The field typically helps treat wastewater before it enters the groundwater system or nearby creek that flows into the La Plata River.

The leach field is failing, said Nicole Rowan, director of the water quality control division at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

“There’s too much water in there, so it can’t slowly let the water flow through it to properly treat it,” she said.

The state has been working to address the issue since May 16. It wasn’t immediately clear Wednesday what was causing water to run through the mobile home park and flood its leach field. The state is looking into upstream drainage issues and potential leaks in the park’s wastewater system.

Locals suspected an upstream blockage in the river, like a beaver dam, said Jim Paquin, Pine Winds property owner, who responded to the issue by building fencing to block off the leach field and working to control the flow of water through the community.

“This has got me blindsided, girl. I was not expecting this,” he said. “We’ve been working almost for 48 hours. We worked until 4 o’clock, and everybody’s just beat. Then we started making progress, but we’re not there yet.”

The oversaturated leach field was releasing high concentrations of E. coli bacteria into the nearby creek as of Wednesday, Rowan said.

The drinking water for the community residents is not impacted, and no public water systems appeared to be impacted as of May 23.

The main concern is the groundwater that is flowing away from the leach field to about 10 neighboring properties that have private wells, Rowan said. The area is just north of the border to the Southern Ute Reservation, but CDPHE was not concerned that homes within the reservation would be impacted.

CDPHE is coordinating with the tribal government and contacting nearby property owners to coordinate water testing, Rowan said.

Anyone who uses a private well within 1 mile of Pine Winds Mobile Home Park should switch to bottled or filtered water until the state knows more about the water quality of the wells, CDPHE advised.

That includes using alternate water sources for drinking, making formula for infants, making ice, brushing teeth, cooking, washing produce and washing dishes. When bathing, parents should ensure children do not get water in their mouths or eyes. CDPHE also suggested providing alternate water to pets and livestock when available.

By the time the water was less than a mile downstream of the leach field, the E. coli levels were diluted enough to be well below the state’s recreational swim beach standards. Upstream conditions could vary, the health department said.

“As far as impacts to the La Plata, given the dilution in the area, we don’t think that’s an issue,” Rowan said.

People recreating in or using water from the La Plata River near the affected area are encouraged to use caution and follow basic safety practices, CDPHE said.

General precautions for river use:

If anyone experiences symptoms such as diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, cramps, fever, rash or irritated eyes, after contact or consumption of water, they should contact their health care provider to discuss appropriate testing and treatment, CDPHE said.

CDPHE will continue to monitor water quality in coordination with local partners and will provide updates as more information becomes available.

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