OLT - Items filtered by date: June 2017
Sunday, 30 July 2017 00:32

Update: Drinking Water Alert!

We were informed on 7/27/17 that our monthly drinking water test has come back positive for E.Coli and Total Coliform Bacteria. Bacterial contamination can occur when increased run-off enters the drinking water source. The state of Colorado has ordered a boil order.

July has been a very wet month here and we believe this is what is causing the problem. This affects our drinking water spring only, not the pools or ponds.

We are providing commercial water to fill your water bottles and encourage everyone to bring water with them.

If you have questions or concerns please give us a call at 719-256-4315.

Below is a copy of the boil order:

DRINKING WATER WARNING
Valley View Hot Springs (PWSID CO0255850)

BOIL YOUR WATER BEFORE USING
Hiervan el Agua Antes de Usarla

E. coli and total coliform bacteria with no chlorine residual were found in the water supply between 07/24/2017 and 07/29/2017. These bacteria can make you sick, and are a particular concern for people with weakened immune systems.

Bacterial contamination can occur when increased run-off enters the drinking water source (for example, following heavy rains). It can also happen due to a break in the distribution system (pipes) or a failure in the water treatment process.

What does this mean? What should I do?

o DO NOT DRINK THE WATER WITHOUT BOILING IT FIRST. Bring all water to a boil, let it boil for one (1) minutes, and let it cool before using, or use bottled water. Boiled or bottled water should be used for drinking, making ice, brushing teeth, washing dishes, and food preparation until further notice. Boiling kills bacteria and other organisms in the water.

o E. coli are bacteria whose presence indicates that the water may be contaminated with human or animal wastes. Microbes in these wastes can cause short-term effects, such as diarrhea, cramps, nausea, headaches, or other symptoms. They may pose a special health risk for infants, young children, some of the elderly and people with severely compromised immune systems. The symptoms above are not caused only by organisms in drinking water. If you experience any of these symptoms and they persist, you may want to seek medical advice.

o If you have an infant, severely compromised immune system, are pregnant, or are elderly, you may be at increased risk and should seek advice from your doctor about drinking this water. General guidelines on ways to lessen the risk of infection by bacteria and other disease-causing organisms are available from EPA’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-426-4791.

What is being done?

o We will inform you when tests show no bacteria and you no longer need to boil your water. 
o We are providing commercial safe drinking water and following all recommendations and state mandates.

We anticipate resolving the problem by as soon as possible. For more information, please contact OLT’s Facility Manager Mark Jacobi at or 719-298-0660.

*Please share this information with all the other people who drink this water, especially those who may not have received this notice directly (for example, people in apartments, nursing homes, schools, and businesses). You can do this by posting this notice in a public place or distributing copies by hand or mail.*

Este informe contiene información muy importante sobre su agua potable. Tradúzcalo o hable con alguien que lo entienda bien.


This notice is being sent to you by the Valley View Hot Springs
Colorado Public Water System ID#: CO0255850
Date distributed: 7/27/2017
Generic Flushing and Sanitization Procedure for the Distribution System


The flushing and sanitizing of a drinking water system begins at the treatment plant and proceeds systematically outward to all ends of the distribution system. Proper flushing, sanitation, and bacteriological testing are required prior to lifting a boil-water advisory.

1. The first step is to increase the disinfectant (chlorine) level leaving the properly operating treatment plant, and entering the distribution system, to between 3 and 4 mg/l (free chlorine).

2. The next step is to systematically begin flushing from the entry point of the distribution system outwards to all ends of the distribution system. Adequate flushing can be easily verified by measuring for the increased disinfectant residual at each flushing point.

3. After flushing, the disinfectant (chlorine) residual level is returned to the normal operating range and the system is once again flushed until the disinfectant (chlorine) level at the system’s furthest tap is within the normal operating range, generally greater than 0.2 mg/l but less than 2.0 mg/l free chlorine.

4. Once the quality of finished water has stabilized throughout the distribution system, microbiological samples (Standard Coliform Test) must be collected at representative locations, (minimum of 3 to 10 sample points), in the distribution system, including all ends of the system. Disinfectant (chlorine) levels in the sampled water must also be measured at the same time the microbiological samples are collected.

5. If the above microbiological monitoring results indicate unsafe conditions (total coliform – positive, on any single sample) the above procedure must be re-implemented until the microbiological monitoring results indicate safe conditions, (total coliform – negative, on all sample locations).

6. Submit results in a written document summarizing all activities undertaken to fix the treatment problem, flush and sanitize the distribution system, and results of all laboratory and field-testing.

Drinking Water Alert - Doug Bishop Drinking Water Alert - Doug Bishop

Introducing the New Telescope at Orient Land Trust.   See the video below.

The rain clouds have blocked the night skies the past two weeks. We are glad for the rain even as we lament the blocked view of the stars. The thirsty mountains are drinking it in and clear nights will return. When they do, take time on a clear evening to look through the eyepiece.

Sunday, 30 July 2017 00:30

Quiet Hours

There are guests that wait for 10:00 pm and the quiet hours. All day long people are playing in the water, meeting friends and family for conversation and laughter. Some people come to celebrate and make music. All day long, those activities are welcome and expected. At 10:00 pm the time begins for listening to the flow of the water, watching the sky and stars as the warm water relaxes and soothes. You can help! From 10:00 pm to 8:00 am, keep the noise to a minimum. Leave the car turned off in the parking lot. Save the conversations for later. Be sensitive to the night, the fireflies, the dark. Let's give a few hours every 24 hours to those who come for peace, reflection, and relishing all too rare quiet.

Sunday, 30 July 2017 00:17

Member Appreciation Weekend: Aug 4-5

August 4 and 5 are the dates for this year's Member Appreciation Weekend. Orient Land Trust would like to make this time to thank all members for their support and contributions. OLT members communicate the values of OLT, help keep the community alive, and provide the funding for enduring land conservation work. Members are vital to OLT's continuing to function. To extend our gratitude, we offer some special events during the weekend. There will be two bands; Friday night, Whitewater Ramble and Saturday night, Tumbleweed. Potluck supper Saturday afternoon. Sunday morning, breakfast is provided by OLT and served by staff and volunteers. Remember that this weekend is member's only - no guests. Our capacity limits will be waived and all members will be admitted. This usually means more people than normal so share the space gracefully. We also ask that, after you unload your supplies, you park along the road, which will make more room for people.

Friday, 28 July 2017 08:55

The Latest Buzz About Everson Ranch

Some of the most exciting new additions at Everson Ranch this summer are the new honey bee hives. We have two hives with the Italian Strain and one hive of the Carniolan Strain. During the 1st year the colonies will build up their troops along with enough honey to get them through the winter, Next year we should be collecting honey and other products that the hives produce (including beeswax, propolis, pollen and royal jelly). In addition to our new hives we also have at least six natural hives on the land.

Honeybees live in colonies with one queen running the whole hive. Worker honeybees are all females and are the only bees most people ever see flying around outside of the hive. They forage for food, build the honeycombs, and protect the hive. Many species still occur in the wild, but honeybees are disappearing from hives due to colony collapse disorder. Scientists are not sure what is causing this collapse.

Honeybees are important pollinators for flowers, fruits, and vegetables. They live on stored honey and pollen all winter and cluster into a ball to conserve warmth. All honeybees are social and cooperative insects. Members of the hive are divided into three types. Workers forage for food (pollen and nectar from flowers), build and protect the hive, clean, and circulate air by beating their wings. The queen's job is simple—she lays the eggs that will spawn the hive's next generation of bees. There is usually only a single queen in a hive. If the queen dies, workers will create a new queen by feeding one of the worker females a special food called "royal jelly." This elixir enables the worker to develop into a fertile queen.

Queens regulate the hive's activities by producing chemicals that guide the behavior of the other bees. Male bees are called drones—the third class of honeybee. Several hundred drones live in each hive during the spring and summer, but they are expelled for the winter months when the hive goes into a lean survival mode.

With even just one hive you can help grow local gardens, fruit orchards, vegetable plantations, etc. The survival of plants depends on pollination, and the honey bee accounts for 80 percent of all pollination done by insects. Without the honey bee's services, more than a third of the fruits and vegetables that humans consume would be lost.

Bee sure to stop by the ranch and learn what's all of the buzz with beekeeping!

Beehive at the Ranch - Cherrye Williams Beehive at the Ranch - Cherrye Williams Bees and sunflowers - John Lorenz Bee with Sunflower - The Beehive - Rodger Ewy

For the education, enjoyment, and well-being of current and future generations, Orient Land Trust: 
promotes a positive clothing-optional experience at all properties including Valley View Hot Springs, Orient Mine and Everson Ranch;
preserves the viewshed, including land acquisition; 
protects natural, wild, agricultural, and historic resources, in the northern San Luis Valley.