GARDNER- The Gardner Water & Sanitation District is down to two Board members, after the May 4 Special District election saw the terms of three directors expire and no new directors elected. Manuel Archuleta and Susan Wallick remain on the Board, and Archuleta told the World Journal, “We are trying to get some people in. We have three people interested, and we have someone to take the test [to get certified] for water testing.” He added, “We are paying a fine, but we haven’t heard anything else from the State.” Former Board member Steve Wachterman, whose term expired May 4, said of the District, “It seems to be heading in the right direction. There are some new people involved, with more energy, and they’re going to get a new operator.”
The District has faced enforcement action by the Colorado Water Quality Control Division because of water testing reports that had not been filed and not meeting State water quality standards, which have gotten increasingly strict over the past six years.
If the situation were to reach the point where the State might shut down the District, Huerfano County would be the most likely entity to take over District operations. Reached at home, Commissioner Scott King said he could not comment on this possibility, but he did say, “The County is going to protect the health and safety of all of its constituents in Gardner.”
Just a year ago, the Gardner District negotiated through the process of finding augmentation water for the wells it uses to supply its residential water.
