A new sewer cleaning truck will allow the Cortez Sanitation District to use a more sustainable method to clean the city’s sewer lines.
Instead of using fresh water from fire hydrants, the truck, a Camel 1200 12-Yard Sewer Cleaner, recycles water from the sewer lines and pumps it back through to clean them. The two pump trucks the district previously used to perform the same task could use between 5,000 and 10,000 gallons of fresh water per day, said district superintendent Phil Starks. But the new, $450,000 truck uses 250 gallons or less per day.
“It’s a huge savings of water,” Starks said.
The state-of-the-art truck is one of just a handful nationwide, and it’s only the second in Colorado, said Ernest Kois of Kois Brothers Equipment. Kois said the Cortez Sanitation District learned of the new type of truck about three years ago, and they started talking about possibly buying one then.
The truck is about 4,000 pounds lighter than the district’s other trucks, so it will be easier on the road and use less fuel, Kois said.
Two workers will man the truck, which replaces an old truck that the district purchased in 2007, Starks said. The truck should last at least ten years, he said. However, the district isn’t getting rid of the old truck, he said.
The sanitation district is responsible for maintaining the city’s 65 miles of sewer lines, Starks said. Currently, the district cleans about 40,000 feet per month, but Starks said he hopes the new truck will help them increase that capacity.
“I think we made the right choice,” he said.
Kois said the district is planning for the future by purchasing the truck. Since Cortez sometimes goes through periods of time where water is limited, they bought a truck that would help address that issue, he said.
“This is a breakthrough,” Kois said.