Partnerships That Work (part 1)
Found at the confluence of the Rio Grande and the South Fork Rio Grande Rivers, the town of South Fork couldn’t be in a more idyllic setting. However, the town has never had a municipal water system. This means that South Fork’s 1,500 residents relied on over thirty different small providers for their water. Recently, South Fork began the challenging task of starting its own municipal water system, which required purchasing and consolidating the small providers. The catalyst was twofold: meeting Department of Natural Resources augmentation requirements and addressing the growing need for repairs to small, private systems in order to meet Safe Drinking Water Act requirements. This article will offer a few key takeaways for system owners and operators on this challenging process. 
Leadership and Communication
South Fork has a board of trustees with a mayor and a town administrator. The town administrator has been a vocal advocate for regionalization and facilitated negotiations with an eye towards long-term viability. This kind of leadership in local government is crucial to moving a complex project like this forward while working with community members and communicating the value, vision and need for regionalization.
From the outset, the town administrator understood the importance of clear and consistent communication between internal staff, residents of the community, and other partners. For example, the town connected with a few providers to see how feasible the project would be and then spoke with residents to gauge public acceptance and potential problems. This helped the town evaluate whether or not regionalization was a tenable solution, and it informed their approach going forward.
Key Partners
The town administrator also identified key partners that would help meet the logistical, operational and financial needs of consolidation including:
- a consulting engineer to develop an acquisition plan
- community water providers that might join the consolidation effort
- nearby systems that could assist with augmentation requirements
- an attorney to assist with negotiations and water rights
- a water operator to manage the system once it was online
- dedicated town staff
Funding Assistance
For funding assistance, the town identified:
- the Department of Local Affairs for grant management assistance
- the Water Conservation Board for water rights items
- Drinking Water State Revolving Fund for engineering services and subsidized loans for capital improvements
Consolidating multiple water providers into a single system is not easy, but it is often a long-term, positive solution for meeting long-term water supply needs, complying with Colorado water laws and best protection for customers’ health. Having a champion in local government like South Fork’s town administrator is crucial for organizing stakeholders and keeping a regionalization effort moving forward. It will take a couple of years from inception to that first billing cycle, but the customers can be assured that when they turn on their faucets, their water will be reliable and safe.
➽ Randi Johnson-Hufford, grants and loans work group lead
