Raw sewage dumped near Wheat Ridge H.S.

WHEAT RIDGE - A criminal investigation is underway after someone dumped raw sewage into a retention pond at Wheat Ridge High School.

Crews have been at the school trying to clean up the mess since last Wednesday.

The Jefferson County School District says it has surveillance video from June 25 of an RV parked in the area of the pond last week. The video shows a suspect lingering in the area as if waiting for someone or something. Police believe he emptied the sewage from his camper into the storm drain that leads into the retention pond.

The district says it could cost as much as $250,000 to clean up the mess, and the work doesn't end there.

"We'll have to reconstruct the pond once we're done cleaning up the pond so this will actually turn in to a reconstruction project as well. So we're talking a month's worth of work, six weeks, minimum," Kim Henry with Jefferson County Public Schools said.

"In a way it is fortunate that this waste ended up in the retention pond. Had the pond not been there, the waste would have flowed into a creek and potentially caused contamination downstream, which would have impacted water quality," Sgt. Fred Bright of the Wheat Ridge Police Department said.

The district says water flow from and around the pond has been stopped, and there is no danger to water at homes in the area.

They are working with police to try and find the person who illegally dumped the sewage. The suspect could face charges of hazardous waste violation, a class four felony.

Anyone with information regarding the identity of the suspect pictured in the photo to the right is asked to contact the Wheat Ridge Police Department at 303-23-2220.