Monument water leak: What’s next?

The TriView Metropolitan District found a leak that hemorrhaged more than 50 million gallons of water in Monument.

Wednesday, the district gave KRDO a tour of the leak. The leak was running into a beaver pond located behind Beaver Creek Elementary school.

“We were able to shut if off once we knew where the valve was. Just within a few minutes,” said Mark Melville, Vice President of TriView Metropolitan District.

On June 3, the district first noticed an unprecedented rise in demand for water in the town. People living in the district were notified on June 17, and July 4, no outside watering was allowed while crews investigated. The leak was discovered July 9.

The pond is in the mouse habitat and not visible or accessible normally. It was also in an older part of the district and the line was not on any current maps. Both situations made it hard for crews to find.

Now that the source of the problem is being resolved, many people wonder who will pay for the leak.

“There may be some opportunity for disaster relief money. Otherwise, the district is responsible to pay for itself and in the end it’s very likely the district or residents will have to pay for the loss of water,” said Melville.

Several signs on the street corners of Monument neighborhoods tell people that water restrictions are now slowly getting back to normal.

“It’s a big relief. There were so many considerations of what it could be. I’m really glad to know they found it,” said Monica Whiteside, a resident.

Whiteside wasn’t aware she lived behind the leak until we showed her.

“No, no we had no idea,” said Whitesaid.

The district admits it could have communicated with the public better.

“We asked the residents to stop watering because really that was the only way we could control the water use. Maybe in doing that, some residents thought we accused them of doing the problem and i feel bad about that,” said Melville.

It could take weeks before the leak is fixed. In the meantime, regular summer watering restrictions resume.

Odd number addresses: Irrigation on Monday, Wednesday, Friday
Even number addresses: Irrigation on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday.

Watering is allowed between 6 p.m. and 9 a.m. on your designated day. No watering is allowed on Sunday. For more information, click here.