In mid-June, Montezuma Water Co. broke ground for its water treatment plant extension on its property on Road T in Dolores. The expansion will increase the plant’s water capacity from 4 million gallons per day to 6 million per day.
The expansion will be attached to the existing water plant in Dolores.
On June 14, the consulting agency Plummer congratulated Montezuma Water on the groundbreaking on Facebook.
“We’re thrilled to be part of this transformative project, which includes constructing a new raw water pump station/wet well, building a cutting edge treatment plant and installing new, high-efficiency pumps,” the Facebook post said.
The project started in 2019, and the groundbreaking is seen as the first major step in an outcome that has been a long time coming for the plant and those who work there.
Montezuma Water Manager Steve Bowman told The Journal that the project is expected to last 18 months, ending in November 2025.
The project allows the plant to anticipate future growth without causing water restrictions to those who already benefit from Montezuma Water’s service.
“It’s making it possible for us to continue to serve our existing members without any watering restrictions at all, and then it allows for growth for new people moving into the area,” Bowman said.
The plant has been seeing steady growth each year, making the expansion a necessary endeavor to keep up with the increase of members.
“We’ve been seeing pretty steady growth every year with 40 to 60 new members each year,” Bowman said.
While the contractor working on the project isn’t local to the Montezuma County area, Bowman said they are using local contractors wherever they can.
Montezuma Water is a member-owned, not-for-profit, water utility company that provides drinking water to members.
There are 21 employees who work for Montezuma Water.
“Everybody that has a tap owns a piece of the company, and they’re represented by a nine-member board. We provide drinking water for the rural areas in Montezuma, parts of Dolores and parts of San Miguel County,” Bowman finished.
