Walsenburg residents forced to pick up water as emergency hits day four

UPDATE TUESDAY 6:00 PM

Walsenburg’s Mayor, Gary Vezzani, says the majority of the town’s water should be back to full pressure Tuesday evening.

The east side of town at 6th and 7th Street is the site of the original leak. Water will remain shut off in the area as crews work to fix the leak.

UPDATE MONDAY 1:15 PM

Residents of Walsenburg, Colorado, lined up at a water tanker outside the Huerfano County Community Center on Monday, filling buckets and containers as the city worked to locate a water main break that left many without running water.

As of 1:15 P.M. Tuesday, the Huerfano County Government said the following:

Monday evening, the city posted to Facebook stating some residents might be having service restored. If you are seeing service restoration, the city is asking you to do the following:

• Do not run laundry until further notice. Rust and sediment may still be present in the lines and can stain clothing or damage washing machines.
• Flush your household plumbing: Remove the aerator or screen from each faucet and allow the water to run for at least five minutes before reinstalling it. This will help clear sediment from the lines.
• Continue to boil water for drinking, cooking, and food preparation until the boil order is officially lifted.
• FOR SHOWERING: AFTER the step of allowing the water to run for five minutes with the screens/aerators off to flush the debris out, you can then shower. You do not have to take the screen off the showerhead and flush that if you have flushed all the faucets in the identified manner, but you definitely can as an additional precaution.
• IF YOU HAVE A BATHTUB SHOWER: Run the faucet first, then turn the shower on. Otherwise, sediment can get caught in the shower head. Do not consume the water, but most definitely get clean!
• IF YOU ARE IMMUNOCOMPROMISED: It is advised that you DO NOT shower until the boil order is lifted.

Watch News5's coverage of the water main break below:

The tanker was one of the only sources of water available in the area on Monday. The Red Cross was also on scene throughout the day, distributing water to residents. Neighbors helped load heavy buckets and containers onto people's vehicles.

City officials said they were working to locate the water main break, but as of Monday evening, no confirmation had been provided on how close crews were to finding or fixing it.

I reached out to the city administrator, the mayor, and the public works team but have not yet received a response.

For some residents, the outage was more than an inconvenience.

Betty Medina said she had no choice but to come collect water herself.

"It's for the restroom because... my husband's handicapped. He had a stroke and I got to haul all this stuff because... I can't even get him in the truck," said Medina.

Medina described the tight-knit nature of the community as residents helped one another through the disruption.

"We were born and raised here. Everybody knows each other. We're family. There's a lot of family members that we all treat each other like family," said Medina.

Rick Woessner said he filled a 15-gallon container at the tanker and noted the outages are a recurring problem.

"The water goes out frequently, more so here than any other place I've ever lived in my life combined," said Woessner.

Mario Bell, who moved to Walsenburg because of its affordability, said the repeated water issues have pushed him to consider leaving.

"We found a place here in Walsenburg because it was an affordable town. We didn't know how bad things could be down here," said Bell.

Bell said the situation has become untenable.

"And these problems have been going on year after year. Nothing's been done," said Bell.

Bell said he and his family have been forced to use a nearby truck stop and state park for basic needs like restroom access and showers, and are now considering putting their house up for sale.

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