On Thursday, Douglas County leaders broke ground on a new wastewater treatment facility near Littleton, along with Dominion Water & Sanitation, PCL Construction, and Stantec. They say it will be a foundation for cleaner water and better infrastructure on the Highway 85 corridor. The region includes new and fast-growing Sterling Ranch, as well as one small community that's been around for over a century but isn't on board with the project.

"This is not just a project, it's a pledge, a pledge that no community is too small to matter, that every voice matters, that every drop of water flowing from a tap must be worthy of our trust," said Douglas County Commissioner Abe Laydon.

"What the wastewater treatment facility does is it does the screening, so primary screening to get out the solids and other material, and then it goes into an aeration basin, where you add some chemicals in it to try to get out some more and settling. And then we'll be moving into an MDR, so a micro bioreactor is what we'll be moving into. And then it's treated, chloraminated, and then discharged. That's all fully right. And then it'll be discharged to the South Platte River," said Andrea Cole, Dominion Water general manager.

The event was attended by all three Douglas County commissioners, leaders from Sterling Ranch and Roxborough, and Rep. Lauren Boebert, who represents Colorado's 4th Congressional District.

"Our top three issues in Colorado are always water, water, water," Boebert said. "Any time that we can find funding, whether the overall piece of legislation is something I don't agree with, or if there is a tactical way to obtain a victory in delivering water to Coloradans, I'm there for it."

County officials say the new facility will improve water quality in Chatfield Reservoir and update water infrastructure for small communities.

"One of those that's going to benefit from this project is Louviers. Towns such as Louviers historically started out as railroad and company towns, that means they had developed without modern wastewater facilities that are capable of supporting their growing population," said Douglas County Commissioner George Teal.

"Here in the Louviers area, families have endured an invisible danger, naturally occurring radium in the water supply since 2018, a silent threat that no one should face, let alone endure, especially right here at home," Laydon said. "That's why Douglas County in 2022 chose to use the American Rescue Plan funds not to plug budget holes, but to build brighter tomorrows. While some governments turn those dollars into a band-aid, we turn them into a foundation, a foundation for cleaner water, stronger infrastructure and a healthier legacy."

But while community members from Sterling Ranch and Roxborough showed up to the groundbreaking, Louviers was notably absent.

The president of Louviers Water and Sanitation, Matt Collitt, told CBS Colorado, "There is a reason we were not at the treatment plant groundbreaking. One, we were not invited and two, we do not support it. They are using us for publicity while at the same time wholly ignoring us and talking smack about us behind our backs."

He says Louviers does not want to pay Dominion's water rates and is not part of the project.

Dominion Water general manager Andrea Cole says discussions are still ongoing with Louviers.

"We're in the process of working with that community," said Cole. "This funding will allow us to build the backbone and the infrastructure to connect this community if they choose to elect to connect."

The facility hopes to be open and operational by 2028.

Now this is interesting! A small town is getting the benefit of better cleaner water resources and they are outright rejecting it? Then you have $20M from the Feds to build this new facility. Very very peculiar activity. But this issue is common in small rural towns. Substandard water quality that lacks adequate O&M. But if I was an infrastructure journalist this is one project I would be keeping a close eye on it.