Resident says town pipeline and easement stripped long-held raw-water right; asks for one tap

Mark Worth, who identified himself to the board as the owner of property at 10750 Road 43, told the Mancos Board of Trustees on July 8 that a town pipeline and settling ponds occupy one acre of his land and that a half-mile of pipeline crosses his property to the town’s treatment plant. He said State Water Commission records from August 1961 show the West Fork flow at about 1.6 cubic feet per second and that the town now uses less than 0.6 CFS, leaving a previously available roughly 1 CFS flowing through an opening on his land.

"My wife and I were asking for one raw water tap from the main flow line," Worth said, arguing the town’s failure to list his property in its water-right filings caused the loss of that allocation. He told trustees the replacement taps installed in the town’s new and abandoned pipeline are inadequate to meet the original intent of the easement agreement.

Why it matters: Worth framed his request as a narrow property-rights and access issue tied to longstanding water-use agreements. If the town’s filings omitted irrigated acreage, that could affect how water rights are administered on the pipeline and what flows are available to adjacent landowners.

Board response and next steps: Trustees heard the comment during the public-comment portion of the meeting; no formal board action on Worth’s request was recorded at the session. The transcript shows Worth presenting a one-page record and making a specific ask (one raw-water tap). The board did not announce a follow-up decision during the meeting; staff or trustees may need to review water-right filings and the easement documentation to determine availability and any legal or technical constraints.

Context and limits: Worth cited State Water Commission flow records but did not provide supporting municipal filings during the meeting. The transcript does not record a detailed staff response or an immediate legal determination. Whether the town can provide a tap depends on current water-right adjudications, easement language, and the town’s own filings and infrastructure constraints; the board did not resolve those legal or technical questions at the July 8 session.

What to watch: Any subsequent staff report, agenda item, or council action that directs staff to research town water-right filings, easement language, or to confer with the town attorney would materially change next steps. Absent that, Worth’s request remains a public comment and a potential item for staff follow-up.