Assistance Grants Successes

Meadow Mountain Water Supply 

The calendar year 2020 wasn’t all bad, especially for drinking water systems that received funding under the assistance grants program. With support from division staff, this program provides funding up to $25,000 to public drinking water systems that need help addressing a water quality challenge. 

One system that received funding from this program, Meadow Mountain Water Supply, installed corrosion control treatment to ensure their drinking water is in compliance with the lead and copper rule and that all the water distributed to their customers is safe. As a small system serving 80 residents, the project expense was a challenge for the system. With assistance grant funding, Meadow Mountain installed a soda ash system to prevent the water from leaching lead out of homeowners’ indoor piping. According to Rachel Barkworth, the administrative contact for the system, “We were delighted to be recommended for the assistance grant program as we are a very small community system and have a lot of financial challenges. The grant came at just the right time to assist us in accomplishing our goals to maintain compliance. The grant process itself, although requiring a lot of information, was clear and easy to follow once approved. Division staff was especially helpful in navigating this process.”

Town of Dolores

The Town of Dolores also used assistance grant funding to address challenges with disinfection contact time. After a visit, the division recommended that the Town of Dolores move their entry point residual disinfectant monitoring location to allow the system to more accurately calculate their contact time and meet the requirements for surface water disinfection. Assistance grant funding paid for approximately 50% of the total project cost and greatly helped the system complete this necessary work during a stressful year. 

This program begins coordination efforts with division staff in August of each year. If you believe your system would be a good fit for this type of project, please contact Kaitlyn Beekman at kaitlyn.beekman@state.co.us. 

➽Kaitlyn Beekman, Communications & Special Projects Unit