From the La Junta Tribune-Democrat (Tom Seaba):
The City of La Junta has received a $5,000.00 matching grant from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment to help with the development and implementation of a Source Water Protection Plan (SWPP) for their drinking water intakes. The development of a SWPP involves identifying a source water protection area; creating an inventory of potential contaminants to the drinking water; and developing best management practices (BMPs) to help mitigate those potential contaminants.
Colorado’s Source Water Protection program is completely voluntary, and is designed to help public water systems take preventive measures to keep their sources of drinking water free from potential contaminants. This program does not impose any new regulations on the use of personal properties. Rather than developing new regulations to enforce, the main goal of developing the SWPP is to raise awareness within communities about the importance of source water protection. The program is founded on the concept that informed citizens, equipped with fundamental knowledge about their drinking water source(s) and the threats to it, will be the most effective advocates for protecting this valuable resource.
Kimberly Mihelich, a Source Water Specialist with the Colorado Rural Water Association (CRWA), will be helping with the coordination and facilitation of this process. CRWA is a nonprofit organization and receives funding from state and federal agencies to help communities with source water protection and other technical issues water systems face.
The planning process will take place during a one four-hour workshop on Thursday, Oct. 6, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the City Council Chambers of La Junta’s Municipal Building (601 Colorado Avenue, La Junta, CO 81050). Lunch will be provided. Interested community members are invited to attend. For further information please contact Tom Seaba (City of La Junta) at (719) 469-6636, Joe Kelly (City of La Junta) at 384-7358, or Kimberly Mihelich (CRWA) at (719) 248-9116.