El Paso County Regional Loop Water Authority, June 26 – Board hears progress report

Progress report
Contract amended
Financial report

By James Howald

At a brief meeting in June, the El Paso County Regional Loop Water Authority (EPCRLWA, or the Loop) board heard a progress report from its interim Workflow Manager Mark Valentine. Valentine coordinates the work of the consulting and engineering firms the Loop has contracted with, which include: JVA Consulting Engineers, the company responsible for water quality testing; Burns & McDonnell, responsible for the design of lift stations, pipelines and the water treatment facility; BBA Water Consultants Inc., which provides water resource modeling and reservoir sizing analysis; Western States Land Services LLC, which acquires easements and other land as required; and Merrick and Co., where Valentine is a project manager.

The board voted on an amendment to its contract with BBA and heard a financial report from Corbin Fromm of Fromm and Co. LLC, the Loop’s accounting firm.

The meeting ended with an executive session.

Progress report

Valentine told the board that JVA had sampled the water in the Chilcott Ditch, which diverts water from Fountain Creek to the Calhan reservoir, the previous day. Dan LaFontaine, who represents the Woodmoor Water and Sanitation District (WWSD) on the Loop’s board, said that a blockage on the Chilcott Ditch required the water sample to be taken from a different location than previous samples. LaFontaine is WWSD’s Operations superintendent. Valentine said that water testing costs have risen temporarily due to more frequent testing. He said he had attended several meetings with Burns & McDonnell to discuss water treatment requirements. The first meeting to discuss lift stations and pipelines was scheduled for early July, Valentine said.

Rebecca Hutchinson, an engineer with Merrick, told the board that the survey control network, a system of land survey markers used by all the consultants to ensure consistent boundaries and locations, was in place and accessible. She said Merrick had circulated a request for proposal regarding reservoir design for comments on behalf of the Loop.

Valentine said he was discussing the potential purchase of the Sundance pipeline with its owner, Cherokee Metropolitan District.

Contract amended

The board voted unanimously to amend its contract with BBA to expand the scope of work that company is responsible for. The contract specifies the new scope of work can be completed for $12,400.

Financial report

Fromm told the board that invoices totaling $98,897 had been received in June, with services from Merrick being the largest cost. The board voted unanimously to authorize Fromm to pay the invoices.

Fromm said the Loop had spent just over $196,000 in 2025 to date, or about 4% of its budget for the year. Shaffer said bringing additional consultants and engineers on board would increase the pace of spending.

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The next regular meeting is scheduled for July 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 Monument Town Hall. Please see loopwater.org or call 719-488-3603 to verify meeting times and locations.

James Howald can be reached at jameshowald@ocn.me.

Progress report

Contract amended

Financial report

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