Clean water generally arrives in seconds from the kitchen sink or garden hose. At Montezuma Water Co.’s treatment facility southwest of Dolores, however, advanced processes are taking place before all that.
The highly sophisticated system runs a 24-hour network of pumps, pipes, filters and treatment equipment, turning raw river water into drinkable water for thousands of rural customers.
Montezuma Water Co. held a grand opening for its treatment facility expansion Tuesday morning, gathering local partners, several board members, facility staff and U.S. Department of Agriculture officials to celebrate the dedication behind the yearslong effort.
Montezuma Water Co. is a nonprofit, private utility founded in 1965.
It treats raw water from McPhee Reservoir and supplies clean drinking water to rural residents and a few businesses, located in Montezuma, Dolores and San Miguel counties. General Manager Steve Bowman said while the company does not provide services within Cortez or Dolores, it does supply water to the town of Dove Creek, which manages its own distribution.
At the grand opening, Sallie Clark, the state director of Colorado Rural Development for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, signed a large white check with $28.1 million in writing before the crowd.
Colorado Rural Development is helping to finance the expansion by providing Montezuma Water Co. with a low-interest, four-part loan. Bowman said the program essentially buys the loan that initially funded construction and contracting, which was provided through Dolores State Bank and a company called CoBank in Denver.
“It’s the only way a rural company can build a building like this and be able to afford it. The USDA stepped up. … So we can continue to grow in this county,” Bowman said. “Thank you to my board for the long meetings over the last two years.”
The treatment process involves cleaning the raw water to remove dirt and using chlorine to disinfect it against germs, Giardia and bacteria. The expansion process began with engineering in 2019 after Bowman and staff saw the facilities neared maximum treatment capacity.
The work was done by engineering firm Plummer Associates, Inc., and contracting by Aslan Construction, Inc.
On-the-ground construction began in 2024.
“The plant is great, it was really well built,” Bowman said. “It was a process to get here.”
Bowman said there are currently about 6,000 memberships serving just under 14,000 people, the majority of whom are residential customers. The original plant was built in the early 1980s, upgraded and expanded in the late 1990s. The new expansion will allow the company to go from treating four million gallons of water per day to six million.
When a 15-year mark is reached, the company expects to install two additional filters in the existing large room.
Clark remarked before the crowd on USDA’s long relationship with the Montezuma Water Co., noting the relationship began in 1967 and now the new facility shows a success story of longevity.
“At their onset in 1967, they utilized USDA funding to purchase water rights and install transmission lines,” she said. “In 1973, money was provided for a water treatment plant. In 1999, the water treatment was expanded, adding traditional filters and a new sedimentation process with Rural Development funding.”
Clark said the company has primarily worked with one local lender, Dolores State Bank, and thanked bank representatives in attendance for their partnership.
“This is really important for this community,” Clark said. “Twenty-eight million dollars is a big check, but for a small community, it also has a really big impact.”
awatson@the-journal.com
