Thank You,
Joe Potkanowicz Jr. – LICM
General Manager | Precision Landscape and Maintenance
Main Office: (970) 669-5280
Direct Line: (970) 966-8540
Emergency: (970) 306-0201
Fax: (970) 821-8151
Email: joseph@coprecision.com
Website: http://www.coprecision.com
Address: 4315 E. Harmony Road. Fort Collins, CO 80528
Make sure to check out our new Maintenance Ticket and Property Dashboard!
Find your property and submit a ticket at noco.repair
———- Forwarded message ———
From: Carrie Lanning
Date: Thu, Sep 14, 2023 at 9:45 AM
Subject: Fwd: Lemay Avenue Leak
To: Joe Potkanowicz , Rane Dennis
This is at Lemay Avenue Estates.
———- Forwarded message ———
From: Nina Patterson
Date: Thu, Sep 14, 2023 at 9:28 AM
Subject: Re: Lemay Avenue Leak
To: Carrie Lanning
Cc: Dan Swaim , Jamie Patterson
Thank you, Carrie , for sending all of this info.
Seems like water from sprinklers in that area is not helping situation. Any
way to reduce run times/days in the areas where there is already too much
water?
Nina Patterson, PT, DPT, OCS, ART, CSCS
FuelingYou.com
On Sep 13, 2023, at 10:54 AM, Carrie Lanning
wrote:
FYI Jamie and Nina. I am not sure if you have been in the loop in regards
to the findings. Please let me know what you would like me to do to help
with this situation.
Carrie
———- Forwarded message ———
From: Gerald Esch
Date: Tue, Sep 12, 2023 at 9:23 PM
Subject: Re: Lemay Avenue Leak
To: Dan Swaim
Cc: Carrie Lanning
Here’s an update. I apologize for the late reply.
After speaking with Fort Collins-Loveland Water I hired American Leak
Detection to investigate the marsh. They looked into the detention pond,
1214 Mountain Home’s sump pit, sprinkler, and tap water. I’ve attached
their report to this email. Here’s their findings:
“A chlorine test was performed on the water in the customers sump pit,
negative for trace chlorine. Technician was on site for 1 hour and the sump
pump cycled one time, for approx 30 seconds, the estimated run time (under
current groundwater levels) per day would be 12 minutes. The amount of
water cycling out of the sump pump at the given duration does not appear to
be a sufficient amount to supply the mush/puddle located in the park area
behind the home. A continuous amount of water is releasing from the street
above the customers home to indicate that a significant amount of ground
water is traveling down the hill toward the low grass area in the park.”
Our builder also visited and inspected our home, twice. Here’s a summary
of his observations.
– Given all the rain we had it’s highly likely ground water is swelling
below LAE (FCL Water independently agrees with this assessment)
– You can see signs of ground water seeping though cracks in the streets
west of 1214 Mountain Home
– Draining 1214 Mountain Home sump into the detention pond is within
city code
– Re-routing sump pump output to the SE cattail marsh through 1214
Mountain Home’s backyard or the detention pond into the cattail drainage
isn’t advisable – not enough slope and increased risk of winter freeze
– He expressed a concern about the sump pump running in winter and
having the external drain freeze and advised I get a water sensor for the
sump pit.
– Re-routing the sump pump drainage to exit on Mountain Home Drive and
flow into the cattail marsh through the street is probably the easiest way
to re-route the sump draining on 1214 Mountain Home’s property. However,
that would cost ~$5000 (a guess) and may not completely address the
problem. Amy and I don’t prefer this option as it would be a major rework
of our basement plumbing and front courtyard landscaping.
Here’s my take on the situation given feedback from Fort Collins-Loveland
Water, American Leak Detection, our builder, ground water measurements
taken before we built our home, observing the marsh most every morning for
the last month, and a co-worker with a continuously running sump pump:
There’s an aquifer below LAE. In 2020, 1214 Mountain Home ground water was
measured to be lower on the north section of the lot. It was higher closer
to the cattail marsh. I don’t think our sump pump ran much, if at all,
during 2020, 2021, or 2022. It’s probably running for ~10 minutes per day
in 2023 because of our unusually wet year increasing the ground water
supply, not due to a leak with our home water supply. This is based on
chlorine measurements of our tap water vs sump water and FCLW monitoring
our water usage. The french drain we had installed around the perimeter of
our foundation is doing its job by attempting to remove ground water before
it swells into our basement. Draining the sump pit water into the
detention pond is within city code.
Over the past month I’ve observed the park’s newly formed marsh holding
more water on days after the park’s sprinklers have run overnight. 1214
Mountain Home lawn watering schedule does not appear to influence park
marsh growth. It’s my guess that my sump pump is periodically dumping
water into the park. Maybe 30 seconds every hour or so. That constant
trickle of water isn’t enough to fill the marsh with water, but it could be
enough to keep the clay soil saturated for the park sprinkler water to rest
on the surface. It’s also a possibility that LAE’s aquifer is closer to
the surface in that section of the park. However, I have no evidence for
this clam, just my speculation based on water table measurements performed
on our lot in 2020.
There is a constant source of water flowing into the cattail marsh just
south of our property – as also noted by American Leak Detection. That
could be contributing to the ground water saturation.
Dan, I’d prefer to speak with you before this becomes an agenda item for
our annual HOA meeting. Please let me know when it’s a good time to chat.
Amy and I can would like to have you over sometime soon.
On Sep 12, 2023, at 7:52 PM, Dan Swaim wrote:
Jerry,
It’s Dan Swaim, neighbor and HOA guy. Any updates from the groundwater guy
that you might be willing to share? We will probably need to discuss this
at annual meeting and see if we want to do anything on the HOA, or possibly
just wait it out and see how it acts next year.
Thanks for your consideration,
Dan
On Aug 26, 2023, at 4:37 PM, Gerald Esch wrote:
Quick update:
Fort Collins-Loveland Water sent a technician to survey the water. They
speculate:
– The water in the detention pond is probably ground water, not treated
water.
– There is no leak in FCL’s water lines – no visible pressurized water
was observed.
– There is no leak in my water lines – this is based on my metered water
history.
– An aquifer under LAE has swollen due to our unusually wet spring and
summer.
– My sump pump probably did not create the standing water in the
detention pond, but did add to it. This is based on my sump pump activity
of ~2 to ~10 minutes per day for the last week.
FCL Water suggested getting a chlorine test kit to check if the water in my
sump and the detention pond is treated water.
I’ve hired a ground water specialist to visit my home next week. I’ll
report back on chlorine test results and his findings.
On Aug 17, 2023, at 8:39 PM, Gerald Esch wrote:
I’ll call the city water department tomorrow.
I began monitoring sump pump activity with a power meter this morning.
After 12 hours of power data I attempted to estimate its daily run time.
Unfortunate I don’t know the pump’s HP rating or current draw under load
(which is key for converting cumulative kWh to run time). I need to watch
the pump run to get an accurate instantaneous power measurement.
Unfortunately that hasn’t happened in the 3 hours I’ve been home. However,
I can estimate the sump pump ran 1 – 10 minutes during 12 hours of
monitoring. This is from a 0.05kWh measurement over 12 hours. This is a
small data set so I have low confidence. I will keep monitoring over a
longer timeframe.
Unfortunately I don’t have a crawl space to inspect for water damage.
I’ll keep everyone posted.
On Aug 17, 2023, at 10:22 AM, Dan Swaim wrote:
Jerry,
I think you just have to call the city water department and tell them you
suspect a leak upstream of your meter that is causing intrusion around your
foundation. This assumes your metered water usage hasn’t gone up by Avery
large amount. The City will spend most/all of their effort convincing you
that the water isn’t coming from the system! Which is probably true.
For the homeowner the most important thing is to inspect your crawl space
and verify it is dry. The foundation perimeter drainage system should be
working but if it’s not Colorado has specific laws for contractor liability
that exceed the general builder’s warranty period.
Dan
On Aug 17, 2023, at 7:49 AM, Gerald Esch wrote:
Hi Carrie and Dan,
Thanks for bringing this to my attention. Would you recommend a city
contact and/or a professional engineer who specializes in this kind of
water analysis?
Thanks in advance,
Jerry Esch
On 08/16/2023 3:27 PM MDT Carrie Lanning wrote:
Good afternoon Gerald,
We have an abundance of water in the retention pond and Dan has given some
explanation below. Can you please look into this right away and keep us
updated?
Carrie
———- Forwarded message ———
From: danjswaim@aol.com
Date: Wed, Aug 16, 2023 at 11:19 AM
Subject: Re: Lemay Avenue Leak
To: Nina Patterson , Jamie Patterson , Carrie Lanning
Carrie,
Some background on this may be helpful.
The sump pump from the Esch’s property, 1214 Mountain home, Lot 49, is
clearly the source of water and it looks to be rather extensive and likely
requires some type of mitigation. The Esch’s should be copied on any
discussions and I trust you’ll forward this to them.
7229 Larimie River Drive had a similar problem. A few years after moving
in their sump pump began running almost continually. The City did some
investigations and determined that the source was ground water and not a
source (city or homeowner) from a treated water system. Dustin and Heather
relocated their sump drain to direct it to storm water drain which ran for
quite a while. However, a few years back it seems to have dried out.
This drying may have been around the time construction began on the Esch’s
but I’m not sure.
The current spot that is flooding out seems to have started this year, It
could be due to the increased rainfall or a shifting of the ground water
plume that apparently runs under/through LAE.
Some thoughts…. I believe the City will do some leak investigation for
no cost. They’ll check for leaks before the water meter to ensure no
leakage on the City side and will also do a chemical/isotopic analysis to
verify that the water is groundwater that has not been through the
treatment system. This is information that the previous owner of 7229
(Dustin) told me, so probably needs to be verified.
If this is groundwater intrusion it needs to be mitigated to eliminate the
“swamp” we have forming in the retention swale. Note that there is an
established stormwater drainage easement just to the south of the property
that feeds into the concrete drain path through the swale. The simplest
solution to this would be to run a drain line externsion from the Esch’s
outfall to the drainage easement, about a hundred feet. This could be done
on the HOA side of the fence to avoid tearing up Esch’s landscaping.
The Esch’s may want to have a professional engineer look at the situation
for any impacts to their property/foundation.
Let me know if I can be of further help on this,
Dan Swaim
970 689 4079
PS: Please do forward to the Esch’s
On Tuesday, August 15, 2023, 10:31:47 AM MDT, Carrie Lanning wrote:
Other photo.
———- Forwarded message ———
From: *Rane Dennis*
Date: Tue, Aug 15, 2023 at 10:28 AM
Subject: Re: Lemay Avenue Leak
To: Carrie Lanning
Email is still ancient and I can barely attach a single photo from my
iPhone these days. Here is the saturated area.
On Tue, Aug 15, 2023 at 10:27 AM Rane Dennis wrote:
Hey Carrie,
Josiah was actually in the area so we were able to do some investigation.
There is no apparent leak we could find. All the zones in this area have
full pressure. What I did find however is that the sump pump for that house
dumps out directly into this area. I will attach a photo. All the drainage
areas are heavily saturated, I will attach a photo of the drain in the
other side in the native for reference. We are going to take all the
watering off this area and adjust the heads so they do not water it for
now. Hopefully this area will dry up. I am thinking it is a combination of
watering and that sump pump pouring out right there. We will see how it
looks over the next week.
On Tue, Aug 15, 2023 at 9:34 AM Rane Dennis wrote:
Good morning Carrie,
There is a large leak in the retention area behind 1214 Mountain Home Dr.
Just heads up in case you hear about it. I am having Josiah get over there
as soon as possible, hopefully by the end of the day or tomorrow morning.
This area will not get mowed as it is heavily saturated and will just be
torn up. I have marked it off with flags.
—
Sincerely,
Carrie
Carrie Lanning, CAM
970-205-9303 | http://www.kellisoncorp.com
201 E. 4th St # 130
Loveland, CO 80537
Follow us on LinkedIn
—
Sincerely,
Carrie
Carrie Lanning, CAM
970-205-9303 | http://www.kellisoncorp.com
201 E. 4th St # 130
Loveland, CO 80537
Follow us on LinkedIn
—
Sincerely,
Carrie
Carrie Lanning, CAM
970-205-9303 | http://www.kellisoncorp.com
201 E. 4th St # 130
Loveland, CO 80537
Follow us on LinkedIn
—
Sincerely,
Carrie
Carrie Lanning, CAM
970-205-9303 | http://www.kellisoncorp.com
201 E. 4th St # 130
Loveland, CO 80537
Follow us on LinkedIn
