By Gail Binkly

The illegal discharge of raw sewage into a tributary of McElmo Creek at the Lakeside Mobile Home Park has been stopped — at least for now.

Richard Norton, owner of the park near Totten Lake, has provided a temporary fix for a sewer-line problem that led to thousands of gallons of untreated sewage surfacing onto the ground and discharging into the creek, according to Greg Brand, district engineer with the Durango office of the state Water Quality Control Division.

"The bubbling of the sewage out of the ground has stopped," Brand said. "The illegal discharge of raw sewage into state waters has also been stopped."

In addition, a fence to surround the area where sewage has surfaced is about half finished, Brand said.

"He (Norton) did get a crew of his into the area and they began to fence off the area with the raw sewage on the ground," Brand said. "They put in fence posts and strung approximately 600 feet of wire fence. They’re about halfway done.

"We were very concerned about kids and animals getting into the raw sewage, especially when it warms up. Right now the majority is frozen and is under snow cover."

Norton has promised to put warning signs on the fence, according to Brand.

Brand and Montezuma County sanitation inspector Mitchell Periman, along with Norton, viewed the site Dec. 2 and found that a large quantity of raw sewage was on the ground and was discharging into an unnamed creek north of the trailer park that feeds into McElmo Creek. As much as 50,000 gallons had been discharged at that time, Brand stated.

Norton concluded that the sewer line had been plugged somewhere near the wastewater treatment ponds, causing sewage to back up in the pipelines and eventually to leak out, according to Brand.

In a Dec. 10 letter to Norton, Brand listed nine "required actions" Norton had to take, including immediately ceasing all discharge of pollutants into state waters; immediately fencing the area; and unplugging or repairing the sewer system by Dec. 14.

However, after Norton attempted one temporary fix for the problem that soon failed, no more repairs were evidently made until after Dec. 28, Brand said, and no fence was erected until after that.

"Myself and Mitchell Periman were out there on Tuesday, Dec. 28, and everything was pretty much status quo at that time," Brand said. "Nothing had been done."

Norton had told Brand that he expected to have equipment ready Dec. 23 and to begin fixing the problem then.

However, some time after Dec. 28, Norton installed a pump in a manhole near the wastewater pond and pumped the sewage out of the sewer system and into the wastewater ponds, thus lowering the sewage in the system, Brand said.

"The opinion of myself and Mitchell Periman is that it’s a temporary fix for the sewage bubbling out of the ground," Brand said. "But if things stay the same, we’d be looking at another (sewer-system) failure."

No definite deadline has yet been set for Norton to repair the system permanently.

"This has been a serious matter," Brand said. "It has been forwarded to the Denver enforcement office of the state health department and I know they are currently reviewing it and considering an enforcement action."

Enforcement actions generally specify actions that are required and give time frames for completing them, he said.

Concerned about keeping drinking water safe at the park, Montezuma Water Company sent a letter Dec. 23 to both Brand and Norton stating that an approved "reduced-pressure zone assembly" system is required at the park. That isolates the drinking water so if there is a further problem with the sewage lines, raw sewage can’t get into the water supply, Brand explained.

Untreated sewage contains numerous bacteria that can spread disease and can be harmful or fatal if ingested.

Norton reportedly purchased the park in 1995 and is involved in a lawsuit with the former owner.

The park has a history of septic problems. This summer, the county considered issuing a cease-and-desist order for the park because of recurring problems with leakage of treated sewage from the westernmost water pond, and breaks in water and sewer lines. But no such order was issued.

The current problem is a separate situation and not directly related to this summer’s problem, which was repaired.

Brand said he and Periman were pleased to see the temporary repairs and fencing.

"We were happy to see at least we’ve got a temporary fix going on," he said. "But we are going to keep a close watch on the park.