Longmont Asking Voters to Approve Bond for Water Infrastructure Work

In a bid to update its aging water system, the City of Longmont is asking voters on November 3 to approve up to $80 million in new water bonds which will be used for a variety of infrastructure improvement projects.  

The infrastructure renewal work is seen by Longmont officials as a bid to maintain both water quality and reliability in a 100,000-population city that has seen its population grow by double digits in the last two decades.

Projects to be funded if Ballot Question 3C passes include the replacement of new backup and peaking functions for the Wade Gaddis Water Treatment plant on the west side of the city, which was first opened in 1983.

Longmont also wants to expand the capacity of the 15 year-old Nelson Flanders Water Treatment plant, some 10 miles to the west of downtown Longmont, while updating potable water tanks and repairing or replacing a city-wide distribution and transmission network.

Prospects for the passage of the bond appear favorable, with no organized opposition.
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Last month the Longmont Economic Development Partnership announced its support for the proposal. In a statement, Jessica Erickson, president of that group, said the city’s reliable water infrastructure has been a “key selling point for Longmont in attracting new businesses to the community and supporting our existing industry base.”

​By Garry Boulard

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