MANITOU - Manitou Springs Mayor Eric Drummond officially marked the start of an 18 month long construction project in Manitou Springs that will provide city-wide improvements to a 135 year old drinking water and sewer system on Tuesday morning in Soda Springs Park.
Mayor Drummond was joined by Council members Marc Snyder and Donna Ford, City Manager Michael Leslie and other dignitaries in celebrating the beginning of the largest public works project in the history of Manitou Springs.
"Working with our partners; the Colorado Department of Public Heath and Environment, the Colorado Water Resource and Power Development Authority, the Obama Administration, through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the citizens of this community and our dedicated staff, we are able to make this project happen," said Mayor Drummond, "I thank each of our partners for their support. This is a project that would never happen without this unique partnership. The City could fund a small portion of this project every year for the next 50 years and never accomplish what this project will bring to the City over the next 18 months."
Project funding will complete significant improvements to the aging infrastructure throughout the community. The $5.9 million project is one of the largest American Recovery and Reinvestment Act drinking and waste water awards within the State of Colorado.
Citizens in Manitou Springs will benefit from more stable water and sewer delivery systems, reduced exposure to sewer back-ups or water main breaks and improved fire suppression flows. The project will also remove barriers for redevelopment in the urban renewal zone where flows are not sufficient to service modern fire sprinkler systems required by new building codes.
"One of the most troubling situations for a Mayor is to have a citizen stand in front of Council after a water or sewer system failure impacted their home as they anguish over lost family treasures, significant monetary impacts and personal and emotional anguish. I look forward to the day we finish this project, and the likelihood of these types of occurrences are greatly diminished," concluded Drummond.
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