The Board of Larimer County Commissioners at their regular Administrative Matters Meeting heard an update on how Immediate Needs Grant funding was used for infrastructure in our community.

Because drinking water plays an important role in public health, the Town of Berthoud applied for and received a $35,000 Immediate Needs Grant for a sonic water treatment to control the algae bloom in their water storage.

There has always been a high amount of algae in the water giving the water an odor and taste. The water in their reservoir also receives a lot of stormwater which contains a large amount of nutrients that contribute to the algae bloom.

The town used its grant to purchase a sustainable ultrasonic treatment to solve the problem. It’s a device that is deployed out on the reservoir --- a buoy --- that blasts ultrasonic waves down into the reservoir. It causes the algae to decay and die and then sink to the bottom of the reservoir by breaking down the cell structure of the algae.

The unit is also solar-powered with no moving parts, and water quality can also be monitored, too. 

Larimer County used Immediate Needs Grant Funding as a conduit during COVID-19 to quickly get these urgently needed American Rescue Plan Funds to organizations to help fund transformational programs in our community.