Douglas County NewsPress article about Louviers Water!

Louviers drinking water now in compliance with state standards:

https://www.douglascountynewspress.com/news/article_59af49e0-ad0b-449b-bec5-78feff02b2d1.html

 

Please view the latest communication from the CDPHE to the District here.

CDPHE announces Louviers’ water quality meets state standard!

CDPHE announces Louviers has returned to compliance on radium in drinking water issue 

Louviers, CO, April 16, 2026 - The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) has announced that Louviers Water & Sanitation District (LWSD) has returned to full compliance after demonstrating four quarters of ongoing compliance. CDPHE issued its violation order to the District in February of 2020. The order was issued when it was discovered that Louviers’ drinking water contained radium levels above both the state and federal standards. The removal of the violation confirms that the District’s new radium treatment system delivers safe water to customers.

After receiving the order, Louviers immediately began the process of securing $1.5 million in funding needed to upgrade its water treatment facility to remove radium from drinking water.

“We are an extremely small district with only 113 taps, so we knew we had to be resourceful to find the funding necessary to make upgrades to our water treatment plant to remove radium from our drinking water,” said Rebecca Connet, LWSD Board Member and Treasurer. “One of the first steps we took was to apply for American Rescue Plan Act (APRA) funding through Douglas County.”

The LWSD’s board also applied for funding through CDPHE’s small communities water grant and the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WIIN) grant, designed to assist small communities in meeting Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) requirements.

Louviers received the lion’s share of funding from Douglas County through its ARPA allocations, with the balance coming from CDPHE small community grants to upgrade its water treatment facility with a radium filtration technology using ion-exchange tanks. After the tanks went online in late 2025, the community’s drinking water met both CDPHE’s and EPA’s drinking water standards.

“The Louviers Board wishes to thank the Douglas County Board of County Commissioners and the staff representatives who worked with us to provide the funding we need to make our water safe,” said Connet. “We’re also thankful to CDPHE for both their funding and guidance during the process and to State Representative Boebert, and Senators Bennet and Hickenlooper for recommending the District to receive the $1M EPA funding for the waterline replacement project.”

According to LWSD Board Member and President, Matt Collitt, the District is now focused on replacing its aging water lines.

“We’re actively replacing our water lines so that we can establish an emergency water connection supply with one of our neighboring utilities in order to have a sufficient supply for firefighting and other emergencies,” said Collitt. “Our challenge is securing the additional $6.5 million to do this, but we are
a resilient community and will do everything we can to make it happen.”

Collitt added, “We also want to thank our community and customers for their patience through this process. They understood that by working together, we can make these key improvements happen.”

 

Return to Compliance and Closure of Order March 2026

Compliance Advisory – Enforcement Order DW.02.20.118035
Return to Compliance and Closure of the Order

On February 24, 2020, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment ("Department") issued Enforcement Order Number DW.02.20.118035 ("Order") to Louviers WSD (“Supplier”) for Louvier Water and Sanitation District’s drinking water system (“System”). The Order was issued as a result of the Supplier’s failure to comply with the requirements of 5 CCR 1002-11, the Colorado Primary Drinking Water Regulations ("Regulation 11").

The Department acknowledges that the Supplier has fully responded to and met the obligations pursuant to the Order. Therefore, the Department is hereby closing the Order and no further action is required from the Supplier in response to this Order.