Garfield County weighs returning water-hauling oversight to counties amid liability concerns

Garfield County commissioners spent a lengthy portion of their Feb. 9 meeting discussing a regional proposal to return authority over commercial water hauling from the Southwest Board of Health to individual counties.

Planning and public-health staff told the board that under the proposed change, counties — not the health department — would be responsible for confirming the source of hauled water and for each instance of quality testing. "It's impossible," a county staff member said of the workload involved in testing frequent haulers serving hundreds of cabins, adding that taking on the role would expose the county to greater legal liability.

The staff presentation cited practical details that drove the concern: frequent haulers may serve cabins on a weekly basis, municipal tanks commonly hold about 1,000 gallons, and the Board of Health process requires roughly 40 days of advertisement before rule changes, which delays implementation. A staff member also referenced a recent out-of-county incident in which a family hauling water experienced a fatal outcome; that account was relayed to commissioners during the discussion but was not litigated or substantiated in the meeting record.

Several commissioners said they preferred to avoid taking on increased liability and asked staff to draft an ordinance that would either prohibit water hauling or tightly restrict it in higher-density areas. Planning staff said they would prepare draft language and bring it before the planning commission and the Board of Health so the county would be ready for whatever decision the regional board reaches in April or May.

Commissioners also discussed enforcement limits: county road or code officers do not have capacity to proactively police hauling across remote areas, so staff said enforcement would rely on permit reviews and conditions tied to new subdivisions or building permits. Staff recommended prohibiting hauling for new developments that lack a permanent water source and said the county could still grandfather existing small, one-off cabins that currently haul water.

Next steps: planning staff will prepare draft ordinance language and present it to the planning commission; the Board of Health process will include public notice and an anticipated decision in the spring.,