FLOOD08523 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Water troubles continue Buffalo Creek system can't afford new line By Stacie Oulton Denver Post Staff Writer BUFFALO CREEK - Restoring wa- ter to this flood-ravaged community faces serious hurdles because the anti- quated water system is owned by a pri- vate company that can't afford to re- place the line, Donald Smith, chairman of the Buffa- lo Park Association, which owns the sys- tem, estimated yesterday that it wilt cost between $150,000 and $200,000 to replace the line that was washed out in last week's flash flood, The Jefferson County Emergency Services Department and the Colorado Department of Local Affairs, which pro- vides assistance to cities and counties, met yesterday with officials of tl)e ass(}- ciation to discuss the situation, hut there aren't many options because the system isn't eligible for government assistance, "They are operating on a shoestring," Smith said of the 'company, "They can't afford to put in" the line, "Nobody is g(}- ing to give money to a group of citizens or to a private water company." Smith, a retired state Court of Ap- peals judge, said one option might be to have the county commissioners create a water district through a resolution, Sta to. and federal agencies then might be more inclined to provide money to replace the line since funds would be g(}- ing to another governmental agency, he noted, He 'and other residents had been working on creating a water district, but that requires an election, and taxes wouldn't be available to spend on the line until two years after the vote, The a"'lOCiation, comprised of seven or eight local stockholders, operates the 100-year-old spring-fed system that pr(}- vided water to 96 active taps, ,Please see WATER on 28 ~ TI18 Denver Post I Helen Dave Rainey, presid,mt of the Buffalo Park Association, the private compan' plying water to 96 Buffalo Creek homes, surveys the damage to the water sy Lines were destroyed or silted from the flood,