State Finds New Problems in Aguilar Water System; Deadlines Loom

The Town of Aguilar’s drinking water system faces new state-ordered fixes after a Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment sanitary survey identified three significant deficiencies and five violations. The survey, conducted Dec. 9, 2025, and issued Jan. 6, 2026, layers fresh findings onto an enforcement order that has guided the town’s water operations since 2023, creating tight deadlines and renewed pressure on local officials.

Inspectors cited extensive interior coating failure and corrosion in the North Tank, a 180,000-gallon steel storage tank, including pitting on the floor, walls, and support column. Repairs must use ANSI/NSF 61-certified coatings and include photographic documentation after work is complete. Tank No. 1, a concrete tank, was flagged because its overflow pipe is not downturned, a condition that can allow rainwater and contaminants to enter and must be corrected and documented. At the Crump Wells, the chlorination system did not dose in proportion to flow; the system relied on timers and manual adjustments rather than an automatic proportioning chlorinator. CDPHE requires installation of an automatic proportioning chlorinator and one month of chlorine residual data after installation.

Regulatory consequences are immediate. Aguilar must submit a written corrective action plan by Feb. 20, 2026, and resolve the cited issues by May 6, 2026. Several violations trigger Tier 2 and Tier 3 public notices with specified distribution deadlines; the failures cited include missed periodic inspections and inadequate chlorine residual recordkeeping. The sanitary survey frames the deficiencies as public-health risks that must be publicly addressed and documented.

Aguilar’s own progress report, filed Dec. 29, 2025, shows incremental movement on repairs but acknowledges missed timelines. Required audits that underpin grant and loan applications remain delayed, a bottleneck that now pushes applications for major funding - including a State Revolving Fund loan for a new finished water storage tank - to as late as Oct. 2026 or Jan. 2027. Those delays make it harder to finance the capital work the town needs to prevent repeated boil notices or more serious advisories in the future.

For Aguilar residents, the immediate consequences are administrative and practical: watch for public notices about the violations, expect updates on the corrective action plan before Feb. 20, and anticipate that some capital fixes may be postponed while audits and funding applications are completed. Town officials must document repairs to the tanks, install automatic chlorination at the Crump Wells, and tighten recordkeeping to meet state timelines. The coming weeks will determine whether Aguilar can meet the May 6 resolution deadline and move from short-term fixes to the longer-term upgrades residents have been promised.