Mt. CB working through water line strike issues on rec path

Pursuing funding help from Water and San

by Kendra Walker

During the June 16 meeting, the Mt. Crested Butte town council approved a change order to costs associated with construction on the rec path, due to the accidental strike of an unidentified water line. The council plans to hold an executive session on July 6 for legal advice as they seek funding help from the Mt. Crested Butte Water and Sanitation District.

Town manager Carlos Velado explained that during construction in May for the town’s Babbling Brook Gothic Rec Path Drainage/Reconstruction Project near the Elevation Hotel “an unanticipated field condition related to an existing water line was encountered within the project limits.”

In a staff memo, he said, “The Town coordinated with the District during the design and pre construction phases of the project. The Town and its contractor undertook standard and reasonable efforts to identify existing utilities during design and prior to construction, including multiple utility locate requests through Colorado 811 and potholing activities to verify utility locations. Despite these efforts, the subject water line was not identified through the locate process and was not accurately reflected in the District’s available mapping. The line was only confirmed after it was struck during construction on May 18, 2026.”

Velado said the town completed emergency repair measures in coordination with the District to stabilize the site and maintain safe construction conditions. “The water line strike created an immediate need to stabilize active infrastructure within an ongoing construction zone. The condition presented risks to public safety, surrounding infrastructure and the integrity of the project area if not addressed promptly,” he said. “Given the active construction environment, leaving the condition unresolved would have posed ongoing safety concerns, including exposure of utilities within the work zone. Immediate action was necessary to secure the site and allow construction activities to proceed in a safe and controlled manner. Emergency repair measures were completed to address this time-sensitive condition, and a notice to proceed for the water line realignment work has since been issued following coordination with the District regarding the appropriate alignment.”

The project was budgeted and approved by both the town council and the Downtown Development Authority (DDA), and the council approved the additional costs related to the relocation of the damaged water line within the project area for $107,000, and the initial repair of the struck waterline for $57,932. Staff plans to coordinate with the DDA to approve funding the change orders, followed by any required town budget appropriation adjustments.

“And then secondarily, there would be a further pursuit with the district that’s already underway to have them at least shoulder some of the expense for this,” said Velado. “But that’s not going to happen right away based on recent correspondence. We anticipate having an executive session on the July 6 meeting to get legal advice.”

“If we fund this, that in no way indicates that we think we’re responsible for it,” said council member Bruce Nation.

“Number one, we’ve already made our position clear to the district,” said town attorney Nick Klein. “Number two, just as a general matter, when it comes to something like civil liability for something, just because you pay for your hospital bill following a car accident doesn’t mean that someone’s liable for that hospital bill. And the third reason is the utility undergrounding statute actually provides for a dispute resolution process that looks a lot like mediation and arbitration that provides for payment procedures.”

“The immediate impact of loss of (water) service was minimal but then the outcome interfered with our project and so now we’re having to completely relocate that,” said Velado. “The town and the district are at odds on who should be responsible for that and that’s a different discussion… but a discussion we plan to have at the next meeting.”

The CB News reached out to the Mt. CB Water and Sanitation District, which replied they do not have a comment at this time.