Dog park group still question water testing

Members of the Friends of Evergreen Dog Park met Thursday to discuss strategies in the local nonprofit’s ongoing efforts to pressure the Jeffco Board of County Commissioners to reopen Elk Meadow, and one board member plans to unveil information he thinks will cast serious doubts about Jeffco Open Space’s water quality testing of the creek that runs through the dog park.

For several weeks, Doug Turner, vice president of The Friends, has been waiting for an answer from Jeffco officials about who at the county was responsible for collecting March 21 and March 30 water samples from the intermittent creek that runs through the Elk Meadow dog park. The creek, commonly referred to as Bergen Creek by locals and officials and referred to as such in previous reports, is actually unnamed.

Jeffco Open Space has been collecting and testing water samples in conjunction with the Evergreen Metropolitan District since March 21. On that date, E. coli levels in the Open Space sample were eight times higher than Evergreen Metro’s, despite being taken from the same location and at about the same time, according to records The Friends acquired through a Colorado Open Records Act request. More concerning to Turner is the fact that E. coli levels collected by the two entities on March 30 were identical.

In addition to the lingering questions about water testing, The Friends also discussed on Thursday its strategies moving forward.
Its short-term goal is to rally enough people to attend the next meeting at 8 a.m. Tuesday, May 16, and pack the commissioners’ hearing room with supporters.

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By Joe Moylan
Thursday, May 11, 2017 at 5:30 pm