Basalt residents most typically source their water from municipal water or private wells. Despite the great-tasting reputation, there are potential issues with each source that could be impacting your quality of life. For starters, all residents will experience the effects of hard water minerals because this area has a very rich subterranean mineral content. Hard minerals (primarily calcium and magnesium) cause frustrating hard water buildup, which can decrease the lifespan of common household appliances. Residents with municipal water might be concerned with hardness and chlorine byproducts created during the disinfection process, whereas residents on a well might be concerned with sediment, and/or inorganic analytes like iron or nitrate.
Residents within Basalt town limits will have water from Basalt Springs, Lucksinger Springs, and/or a few local wells. The water from these sources is treated with chlorine as the main disinfectant.
The town’s springs are classified as groundwater under direct influence of surface water, meaning that it could become contaminated with parasites that are difficult to kill with conventional amounts of chlorine. This is because of possible occurrences of microorganisms, algae, or pathogens, or that the water source exhibits shifts in characteristics such as turbidity, temperature, conductivity, or pH.
The town’s wells are groundwater and have a few extra sources of potential contamination. The water is prone to changes due to transportation or road runoff, runoff from residential or commercial practices, agricultural activities such as pesticide or herbicide spraying, above- or under-ground leaking storage tanks, septic systems, and more.
Besides hard water, frequent issues in the Basalt area include acidic water, high levels of iron, high levels of manganese, high levels of TDS, foul smells from sulfate, and turbidity. These issues can cause a number of side effects throughout your home and body. If you have any concerns about your water, Aspen WaterWise would love to discuss treatment options with you.
Treating acidic water is a top priority for the Aspen WaterWise team, especially for our residents in the West Sopris area. Acidic water, or water with a pH below 7 exposes you to heavy metals, can damage your teeth, and can damage your home’s plumbing. These issues also apply to your ranch and your livestock – Aspen WaterWise has plenty of experience creating treatment plans with your animals and operations in mind. You can contact us here to schedule a water test or site visit. We create in-house blends of organic mineral mixes to boost pH throughout your whole home, and we are a proud distributor of LeFay alkalinity cartridges for point-of-use reverse osmosis units. Mineral tanks or alkalinity cartridges can be added as a final stage to any reverse osmosis system, and will reintroduce a medically recommended dose of healthy minerals back into your water. These added minerals increase the pH and the alkalinity of your water, and offer a number of powerful antioxidant-related health benefits that you can read about in more detail here.
Poor well design or construction can increase an individual’s vulnerability to contamination. Aspen WaterWise is partnered with a number of well and pump service providers in the Valley, and would be happy to connect you if you have questions or concerns about your well system.
Basalt water, and the general Roaring Fork Valley’s current water quality can be dictated by population growth, urbanization, mining, agricultural practices, recreation, and even river modifications like the construction of dams or diversions. This article by Colorado State University describes in detail how these processes mentioned above affect our water resources. In the areas between and surrounding Glenwood Springs and Aspen, we have found and successfully treated lead, bacteria, and other harmful contaminants. You can call or email Aspen WaterWise with any questions or concerns about your unique water quality.
Eagle County’s 2021 Water Quality report for Basalt can be read here. More information about contaminants and potential health effects can be obtained by calling the Environmental Protection Agency’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline (1-800-426-4791) or by visiting their website.
