Carbondale board reaffirms long‑standing moratorium on out‑of‑town water and sewer taps

The Town of Carbondale Public Works board reviewed pressure the town has been receiving for out‑of‑town water and sewer taps and signaled informal agreement to maintain its long‑standing moratorium. The board’s discussion traced the moratorium’s history to a 1973 town attorney letter and a 1993 ordinance that limited out‑of‑town taps; staff said the policy has been used for roughly five decades to manage growth and protect the town’s water resources.

Kevin (Public Works staff) told the board that staff have been receiving increasing requests for service outside the town boundary ‘‘for a variety of reasons’’ and that the town’s historical posture has been to refuse outsized out‑of‑town service without additional agreements. He explained that some out‑of‑town connections exist for historical reasons—such as when a main water line required easements across private property—and that the town acquired sewer assets when it dissolved a sanitation district in the past.…