By James Howald
The El Paso County Regional Loop Water Authority (EPCRLWA, or the Loop) board met briefly in September to hear a progress report from John Kuosman, a water practice leader with Merrick and Co., who serves as the Loop’s workflow manager. Board President Jessie Shaffer gave a financial report. The meeting ended with an executive session after which no action was taken.
Madeline Vandenhoek, the interim town manager for the Town of Monument, replaced the previous Town Manager Mike Foreman. The Cherokee Metropolitan District did not have a representative at the meeting.
Progress report
Kuosman told the board he had sent a letter to Colorado Springs Utilities (CSU) asking for its timeline on allowing the Loop to use the Southern Delivery System pipeline to convey the Loop’s water and to use the Edward W. Bailey Water Treatment Plant to treat its water. The Loop has been trying to negotiate the use of CSU’s infrastructure for several months without reaching an agreement. Kuosman said he thought CSU could be open to sharing resources with the Loop at the end of 2025.
Kuosman said three of the Loop’s providers—EPCOR, a financing company, Vidler Water Company Inc., which develops water supplies, and Tallgrass Water, a water infrastructure company—had requested the Loop board sign non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) with them to protect their financial estimates. Kuosman said he and Nicole R. Peykov, the Loop’s attorney, recommended waiting before signing the NDAs provided in the board packet for the meeting. In response to Kuosman’s recommendation, the board tabled its vote on the NDAs.
Financial report
Shaffer listed five invoices the Loop had received in the last month from providers:
- Fromm & Co., $592.
- JVA Inc., $5,268.
- Kimley Horn, $1,780.
- American Co., $12,010.
- Spencer Fane, $4,204.
The board voted unanimously to approve paying the invoices.
Executive session
The meeting ended with an executive session to receive legal advice from the Loop’s attorney on negotiating positions regarding the use of the funds remaining from the $4 million American Recovery Plan Act (ARPA) grant the Loop received from the Biden administration via the El Paso Board of County Commissioners. No votes were taken after the executive session.
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The next regular meeting is scheduled for Oct. 17 at 9 a.m. Regular meetings are held on the third Thursday of each month at 9 a.m. at the Monument Town Hall at 645 Beacon Lite Road. Workshop meetings are held the first Thursday of each month at 9 a.m. at the Cherokee Metropolitan District offices at 6250 Palmer Park Blvd., Colorado Springs. Please see loopwater.org or call 719-488-3603 to verify meeting times and locations.
James Howald can be reached at jameshowald@ocn.me.
Other LOOP articles
- El Paso County Regional Loop Water Authority, Feb. 18 – Board hears preliminary engineering designs (3/4/2026)
- El Paso County Regional Loop Water Authority, Jan. 15 – Board hears updates from Merrick and SpencerFane (2/4/2026)
- El Paso County Regional Loop Water Authority, Dec.18 – Board considers hiring executive director (12/31/2025)
- El Paso County Regional Loop Water Authority, Nov.20 – 2025 budget reviewed; 2026 budget adopted (12/4/2025)
- El Paso County Regional Loop Water Authority, Oct. 15 – Board of County Commissioners slow to reimburse (10/30/2025)
- El Paso County Regional Loop Water Authority, Sept. 25 – Contract for reservoir expansion design awarded (10/2/2025)
- El Paso County Regional Loop Water Authority, Aug. 28 – Board considers public-private partnership financing (9/4/2025)
- El Paso County Regional Loop Water Authority, July 17 – 2024 finances receive clean audit opinion (7/31/2025)
- El Paso County Regional Loop Water Authority, June 26 – Board hears progress report (7/3/2025)
- El Paso County Regional Loop Water Authority, May 15 – Board officers elected (6/7/2025)