Windmills: old solution for new neighborhood

By Cherry Sokoloski
North Forty News

People in rural Colorado one hundred years ago hardly thought of windmills as being unusual. In Fort Collins today, they are.

At The Ponds at Overland Trail, a foothills subdivision on the west side of Fort Collins, two windmills have been operating for a couple of years. The structures lend a rural touch to the suburban neighborhood, but they also serve a very useful purpose: aerating the ponds that give the neighborhood its name.

A few years ago, residents had to roll up their car windows when they passed by the ponds to fend off the powerful smell. Jim Muller, who served on the homeowners association board at the time and is now its president, said something had to be done. Board members first considered an electrical pump, but they weren't satisfied with that solution.

"We wanted to see if there was a green pathway to take," Muller said, and after some research they discovered the windmill idea. "It's environmentally friendly and looks aesthetic," he noted, reflecting values that are important in the neighborhood.

It helps, of course, that The Ponds is in the foothills and receives plenty of that renewable resource, wind. Muller said it will take seven to 10 years to recover the extra cost of the windmills through savings on electricity.

Lorin Unterberger, owner of Waterwise Land and Waterscapes of Fort Collins, installed the windmills. They are distributed by Alpine Koi of Fort Collins and cost about $2,500 installed.

According to Unterberger, ponds develop an odor when the bottom of the pond receives no oxygen. Waste in the pond is then processed by anaerobic bacteria, and the process releases hydrogen sulfide and methane.

When air is circulated through the bottom of the pond, however, waste processing changes to an aerobic function that is friendlier to the olfactory sense.

After the windmills were installed, the benefits were immediately apparent to the neighborhood. Car windows came down again.

Muller and Unterberger believe that The Ponds is the only neighborhood in Fort Collins with functioning windmills. Standing 14 feet high, each contains an orbital compressor. Unterberger does an annual inspection and performs minor maintenance each spring, but the windmills are generally care-free.

The anchoring system is the most important component, Unterberger said, so that the windmills can withstand strong winds.

Visually, the windmills fit in well with ponds, cattails and redwing blackbirds. Now, residents can even hear the blackbirds' song when they drive by these landscaping features in their neighborhood.