We Need 1500 Donors @ $100 Each!

Ever sit on the back porch at Oak House in warm summer months and catch our "drift"?!? It's not too swift on hot, sunny days, depending on which way the wind blows! OLT's wastewater treatment plant (WWTP), constructed in 1983, has gotten heavy use over the last 30 years by our thousands of annual visitors and is in dire need of retirement. We are now mandated by the Colorado Department of Public Health and the Environment to invest in wastewater system upgrades that will result in OLT having a quiet, odorless, and nearly invisible underground wastewater facility!

While we are still waiting for final design and numbers for our new wastewater treatment system, we have completed the necessary underground water, perc and strata tests to obtain the in-ground data that will inform the engineering design of our new wastewater treatment facilities. At minimum, we believe we will need two holding tanks at an approximate cost of about $35,000 each and at least 500 infiltrators at $20 each, plus connecting plumbing, labor and engineering design fees. Bio Habitats of Denver is the designer of our new system which we expect will be finished by next summer.

We are hoping to be able to complete this state-mandated project for under the estimated $150,000. If approximately 1500 Members each donated $100 for the WWTP upgrades, we'd cover the cost in full rather than need to go into debt with a loan. We hope you will want to join our "potty" to help maintain Valley View / OLT's infrastructure and donate generously to our WWTP upgrades, or at minimum SPONSOR AN INFILTRATOR (sounds kinda covert, eh?!) at $20. An infiltrator is a scientifically designed sub-surface structure that, when installed in series, optimizes the dispersal of the effluent. Help us fund this not-very-glamorous, but important project. OLT's WWTP facility provides important support for your OLT experience of serene landscapes and soothing waters, allowing you to "recreate" in nature without worry about how to manage life's basic necessities. So, please consider donating generously this year to our Annual Appeal to help with our expensive and much-needed wastewater treatment facelift! A donation form for the Annual Appeal is located on the back page of this Annual Report. We will also be holding OLT member "pottys" (parties) on the Front Range and other locations in 2014, with further opportunities to join our "Potty" in the new year!

- Pam Nelson, Director of Development

[revised 5/12/2014]