Fire Mountain Canal Repairs Progressing
The Fire Mountain Canal, which serves nearly 500 water users on the north side of the North Fork Valley from Somerset to Hotchkiss, has been shut down since last week after a hillside gave way near the canal road, threatening to breach the canal wall. Superintendent Steve Fletcher shut the canal down immediately to prevent a catastrophic failure.
Repairs are now well underway. The fix calls for replacing the failed section with roughly 200 feet of 8-foot diameter pipe — big enough to drive a small car through — sourced from Texas. Crews broke ground last Monday. By Wednesday, concrete footers for the wing walls had been poured, and the first pipe sections arrived on site Friday. As of Tuesday morning, two sections are in place.
The Canal Company is also using the downtime to permanently fix a separate known leak area that has required repairs every year.
The original two-to-three week shutdown estimate remains the working timeline. The earliest possible restart could be this Friday or weekend, though early next week is more likely. Follow the Fire Mountain Canal and Reservoir Company on Facebook for photos and the latest updates.
Cooler, Wetter April Buys More Time
Snowpack in the Gunnison Basin remains at historic lows — just 18% of normal — but a cooler, wetter April has made a meaningful difference. As of April 28th, the snow water equivalent in the basin was 2.3 inches, the same level recorded on April 1st. That means recent precipitation has effectively extended spring runoff by nearly a full month, staving off the worst-case water scenario that many feared when temperatures hit 80 degrees back in March.
Lake City Issues Boil Order After Equipment Failure
On Monday, the town of Lake City reported that a cracked ball valve in the water treatment system sprayed water onto a breaker box, knocking out the controller for the town's main well pump. The town switched to its backup Ballfield Well and issued both an essential water use order and a boil order as a precaution.
The essential water use order has since been lifted. As of Tuesday afternoon, a new controller was installed and the main system is running at full capacity. Town staff and fire district volunteers began flushing the system by opening fire hydrants from south to north. This flushing work was completed as of Wednesday evening.
The boil order remains in effect until water sample tests come back negative for contaminants. Detailed updates are here.
Routine Lead Tests on Fruitland Mesa: The System Working as Designed
The Fruitland Domestic Water Company, serving more than 200 homes on Fruitland Mesa south of Crawford, recently reported that two homes tested just above the federal lead action level of 15 parts per billion during routine sampling.
The important context: there is no lead in the water itself. The company's raw and treated water both tested clean. The elevated readings trace to plumbing inside those two homes, built between 1983 and 1987 when lead-based solder was still permitted in construction.
Because the readings exceeded a regulatory threshold, state health officials required the company to publicize the results — which company president Keith Nichols did, reaching out to KVNF and the High County Shopper directly.
If your home was built between 1983 and 1987, no matter where you live, consider filtering your drinking water as a simple precaution — especially if you have young children.
For everyone else on the Western Slope: know that this is a good example of how your water company is being regulated, tested, and held accountable. When something comes up, you hear about it.
