Longtime Niwot Sanitation District's director to retire

It's a testament to Karen Behne's 25-year career at the Niwot Sanitation District when past sanitation board president Jim Jones said, "People come in to pay their bills in person so they can talk to Karen. She really is the face of Niwot Sanitation."

Jones feels that Behne has an encyclopedic knowledge about the district. "She knows the answer off the top of her head." He added, "The only time people are concerned (with sanitation) is when their toilets don't flush."

For Jones, Behne has been a wonderful person to work with.

Behne has worked at the sanitation district for 25 years, starting as a bookkeeper, becoming director seven years ago.

"I've learned a lot working here," she said, "I never thought I would work in wastewater, but it's been really interesting. You never think about the process of treating the waste that comes from houses (or) the science behind it and how it all works. (Plus) what you're doing to make sure that the water that's coming out of the plant meets the standards of the state. [We made] upgrades to the plant. There is a standard for nutrients we need to meet for total inorganic nitrogen and for phosphoric" [in the waste water]..

She has overseen projects such as the relining of the district's clay pipes. Large projects like this one require multiple steps and include a myriad of contractors and engineers. She also applied for and received a grant from SIPA (Statewide Internet Portal Authority) to upgrade the district's website.

Behne was born in Oregon, raised in San Jose, Calif. and moved to Colorado in 1975. Prior to working for the sanitation district, she worked for StorageTek, 1st Bank and for the St. Vrain Valley School District. She was hired at Niwot Sanitation in 1996.

She was working for the district when the 2013 flood hit. "We were unable to process all the water that was going through here," she recalled. "We did end up replacing the liner in our aeration basin at that point in time." They did have to bring in some extra pumps so that there was no overflow.

With Behne's retirement in sight, Dave Biachini was hired in November 2021 as the district's new director. "Working with Behne was great," Bianchini said. "She was very prepared. There were SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures), which she (documented) for different processes that we do. We sat down ... and we really went through every single thing that we possibly could".

While there are still situations which only occur annually that Bianchini hasn't done yet, he said, "She made sure that everything was there. The knowledge transfer was very easy."

Bianchini is originally from Massachusetts. He moved to Colorado in September 2019, where he worked for the Ft. Collins-Loveland Water District and the Ft. Collins Sanitation District where he was the technical services superintendent. He was hired by the Niwot Sanitation District in September 2021.

Behne's plans for retirement include spending more time with her grandchildren, volunteering and learning how to play the piano. She did add, "I've been told by a lot of people that you're going to make these plans, but you're going to find out that you're too busy to do the things that you're planning on doing. We'll see how that goes."