Six Weeks Before the October Releases, the State Ordered Pueblo West to Fix How It Runs Its Sewage Plant
A September 1 cease-and-desist order cites 1.3 million gallons of partially treated overflow this spring, repeated E. coli limit violations and missed toxicity tests. It does not assess a penalty.
On September 1, 2026, Colorado’s Water Quality Control Division served the Pueblo West Metropolitan District with a Notice of Violation and Cease and Desist Order, number DO-260901-1. The order finds that the district failed to properly operate and maintain its wastewater plant during two overflows this spring. According to the order, those overflows sent about 1.3 million gallons of partially treated wastewater and solids into Pesthouse Gulch, Wildhorse Creek and the Arkansas River.
The order is public. It is listed on CDPHE’s notices of violation page, which links to the full document in the state’s records system. It came six weeks before the October 13 releases, and it does not mention the UV upgrade.
The permit
The plant at 1370 E. Grouse Drive operates under Colorado Discharge Permit CO0040789. According to the order, the current permit took effect October 1, 2014, and is “administratively continued.” EPA’s ECHO facility report lists its expiration date as September 30, 2019, and its status as “Admin Continued.” The records we reviewed do not explain why a renewed permit has not been issued.
The order describes a plant with bar screens, grit removal, two aeration basins, two clarifiers and UV disinfection. Its hydraulic capacity is 1.8 million gallons a day. Its one permitted outfall discharges into Pesthouse Gulch and Wildhorse Creek.
What the September 1 order finds
The order makes four groups of findings:
- Spring overflows. On April 24, an aeration blower switch malfunctioned. About 800,000 gallons of partially treated wastewater and solids overflowed both clarifiers and went out through the outfall (state incident 2026-0409). On May 7, a second clarifier overflow released 500,000 gallons (incident 2026-0457). The district told the state this was caused by an “overcorrection” after the April event, made worse by a temperature drop.
- E. coli limits. Self-reported monitoring exceeded permit limits in four reporting periods (table below).
- Toxicity tests. Whole-effluent toxicity results failed the permit limit in four quarters for one test species and one quarter for another. The required tests were not done at all for October through December 2023.
- Sewer overflows to the ground. Five collection-system spills between January 2024 and May 2025. The largest was about 100,000 gallons at Lift Station #1 on May 19, 2025, after a power surge. One 500-gallon spill there in January 2024 was a gasket failure “during bypass pumping.”
| Reporting period | 30-day E. coli (limit 126) | 7-day E. coli (limit 252) |
|---|---|---|
| May 2023 | 159.37 | — |
| May 2024 | 144 | 315 |
| January 2025 | — | 317 |
| March 2026 | — | 693 |
Values are per 100 milliliters, as listed in paragraph 11 of the order.
What the order requires
The district must stop all violations and, within 30 days of receiving the order, certify that staff have reviewed the permit. It must hire a Colorado-registered professional engineer within 30 days to evaluate the plant and the sewer system, including inflow and infiltration. Proof of that hire is due within 45 days. A spill response plan is due within 60 days, and the engineer’s report and an implementation schedule within 90 days. Monthly progress reports start December 31, 2026.
The district also had to answer each finding within 30 days of receipt. The order notes that state law allows penalties of up to $66,895 per day per violation. It assesses none. The state says it “is continuing its investigation” and may amend the order.
We did not find the district’s answer, or any record of whether these deadlines were met.
The earlier record
The state issued an earlier cease-and-desist order, DO-211027-1, on October 27, 2021. It says that on May 8, 2021, a whole tote of polymer was added to an aeration basin. The resulting turbidity “interfered with the UV disinfection system,” and about 8.993 million gallons of partially treated effluent were released. That matches a KOAA report of an E. coli warning on the Arkansas.
ECHO lists four formal state actions since October 2021: the 2021 order, a compliance order on consent dated February 2, 2023, a $50,000 penalty order dated March 15, 2023, and the September 1, 2026 order. It also lists state warning letters dated March 14, 2025 and May 15, 2026. ECHO shows violations identified in 8 of the 12 quarters from July 2023 through June 2026, and a last state inspection on August 1, 2024.
The sources differ on how the penalty was set. A reposted state release describes the $50,000 as part of the February 2023 consent order. ECHO records it as a separate March 15 order. We have not opened either 2023 document.
What the record does not show
ECHO’s data were extracted October 9, so they do not include the October 13 releases. The September order does not establish whether the spring overflows reached the river in amounts that changed water quality there. It also does not establish any link to the UV project. A state finding of a violation is not a finding of intent.