The Metro Wastewater Reclamation District and the Colorado Division of Wildlife (DOW) are trying to figure out why ducks have been found dead over the past two weeks in the chlorine contact basin at the Metro District's treatment plant north of Denver.
"We initiated the call to DOW because this is such an unusual occurrence, and it's not a problem we've experienced before," said Steve Pearlman, the director of environmental services at the Metro.
Metro workers have been finding dead ducks in the chlorine contact basin for a little over two weeks. The cause of the duck deaths is not yet known.
DOW officers have taken several specimens to the state's veterinary lab where tests have been run to determine the cause of the deaths.
"We took immediate action because protecting the environment, including wildlife, is among our top priorities here at Metro," added Pearlman.
Metro consulted with the Colorado Division of Wildlife and the US Fish and Wildlife Service last week to determine what measures might be needed to protect the ducks.
The Metro District is the largest wastewater treatment agency in the Rocky Mountain West. It treats about 130 million gallons of wastewater a day and serves 1.5 million people in a 380-square-mile service area that includes Denver, Arvada, Aurora, Lakewood, part of Westminster, Wheat Ridge, and Thornton, together with about 40 sanitation and water and sanitation districts in the metropolitan Denver area.
Source: Metro Wastewater Reclamation District
