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Wastewater System Rehabilitation
Carlsbad Caverns National Park » Wastewater System Rehabilitation » Document List
At Carlsbad Cavern National Park the National Park Service (NPS) proposes to rehabilitate the wastewater system that services visitor and administrative facilities on top of the Guadalupe Escarpment above Carlsbad Cavern (the visitor center, offices, residences, Bat Cave Draw restrooms, and maintenance buildings). The existing wastewater system, which was constructed in 1972, collects waste along approximately 3,000 feet of underground 4-6-inch galvanized metal pipe and, with the assistance of a lift station located at the Bat Cave Draw restrooms, transports the waste down the escarpment through 4,800 feet of aboveground 6-8-inch galvanized metal sewer pipe to waste disposal ponds.
Rehabilitation of the wastewater system is needed to address increasingly frequent maintenance problems and to prevent further contamination of groundwater in the infiltration zone above Carlsbad Cavern. The existing sewer lines have deteriorated and become damaged due to settling and abrasion of loose rock fill against the underground galvanized metal pipes. The lines are currently leaking, and the lines have become plugged, backed up, and overflowed an average of four times per year since 2003. Maintenance and repair are very difficult due to the below-grade placement of the pipelines on top of the escarpment and the rugged terrain. More importantly, the current sewer outfall system has been identified as a primary source of contamination of groundwater that poses a risk to the Main Corridor, Left-hand Tunnel, and Quintessential Right in Carlsbad Cavern.
If you wish to comment on the environmental assessment, you may mail comments to the name and address provided or post comments online at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/ by May 4, 2007. Before including your address, phone number, e-mail address, or other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment – including your personal identifying information – may be made publicly available at any time. While you can ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.
Chief-Division of Resource Stewardship and Science
Carlsbad Caverns National Park
3225 National Parks Highway
Carlsbad, NM 88220
Rehabilitation of the wastewater system is needed to address increasingly frequent maintenance problems and to prevent further contamination of groundwater in the infiltration zone above Carlsbad Cavern. The existing sewer lines have deteriorated and become damaged due to settling and abrasion of loose rock fill against the underground galvanized metal pipes. The lines are currently leaking, and the lines have become plugged, backed up, and overflowed an average of four times per year since 2003. Maintenance and repair are very difficult due to the below-grade placement of the pipelines on top of the escarpment and the rugged terrain. More importantly, the current sewer outfall system has been identified as a primary source of contamination of groundwater that poses a risk to the Main Corridor, Left-hand Tunnel, and Quintessential Right in Carlsbad Cavern.
If you wish to comment on the environmental assessment, you may mail comments to the name and address provided or post comments online at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/ by May 4, 2007. Before including your address, phone number, e-mail address, or other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment – including your personal identifying information – may be made publicly available at any time. While you can ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.
Contact Information
Gopaul NoojibailChief-Division of Resource Stewardship and Science
Carlsbad Caverns National Park
3225 National Parks Highway
Carlsbad, NM 88220