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Alpine council asks utilities to produce a strategic water-infrastructure plan after recent well issues
Summary
Council directed staff to develop a strategic plan to inventory and prioritize wells for refurbishment or replacement after recent well performance issues; staff said operators have the production and depth data and are pursuing a USDA planning grant of about $75,000 to support a comprehensive study.
Council opened a discussion item on creating a strategic water-infrastructure plan to inventory wells, prioritize refurbishment or replacement, and reduce the risk of sudden failures. The item followed recent problems with the Sunny Glen wells and questions from residents and council about long-term water reliability.
Councilmember Stevens urged a detailed inventory—well name, age, depth, production history—and suggested staff could prioritize which wells are most likely to fail next. Utilities director Mike Macias said operators already track production and meet twice monthly; he committed to providing the requested data and to prioritize the engineering information for the council. Staff also said they are working with Jacob Martin to apply for a USDA planning grant of about $75,000 to fund a comprehensive evaluation.
Rebecca Rodriguez Fuentes of Communities Unlimited offered to host community meetings and help gather resident input at no cost, and council expressed support for using both operator data and community feedback in a capital-improvement plan. Council agreed to make the item an ongoing discussion and requested the data be added to an upcoming agenda so members can make informed decisions on capital prioritization.
