Water bill advances
DENVER - Don Stites and Marion Vaughan bought land in the Rancho Colorado subdivision believing that someday they’d have water. Years later, they still have to truck it in.
A bill approved unanimously by the House Agriculture, Livestock and Natural Resources Committee on Wednesday could ensure that others don’t end up in the same situation as the 91 residents of the community in unincorporated southern El Paso County.
House Bill 1156 by Rep. Marsha Looper, R-Calhan, requires sellers of residential property to disclose the source of water for that property. That would allow rural buyers to know if it comes from a well that could be running dry, and it would allow urban dwellers to investigate the quality of the water, she said.
The bill springs directly from the situation at Rancho Colorado, which is in Looper’s district. But with more than 8,000 wells having gone dry in the state during the past five years, she thinks adding the disclosure of water sources to all sales contracts could help a lot more people.
Stites, who spoke repeatedly with Looper about the bill, agreed.
“There have been many, many people give up and have to walk away from their investments,” Stites said of the situation in his community. “The water issue that Marsha is pushing may, in itself, not help those people who already have lost everything, but it may help prevent it from happening again.”
Stites was the first person to move to one of the undeveloped tracts of land near Fort Carson in 1997, and he and other early buyers got their water from a farmer’s faucet provided by the city of Fountain. When access to that spigot was cut at the end of 2005, residents were left with unfulfilled promises that water lines would be built.
Much of the community either gets water from a delivery truck that comes around occasionally or pays upward of $200 per month to tap into a line running through the property, Vaughan said. Many have given up on the land and walked away.
Looper’s bill would add a section to sales contracts that states whether the water is from a well, a water provider or another source, such as a cistern. Such information is often provided in the seller’s property disclosure, but it is often overlooked and can be omitted without penalty, she said.
The real estate community initially opposed the bill but backed off after learning that the legislation just codifies standard practice, Looper said. Some say property purchasers should take responsibility for investigating their water source, but the freshman legislator scoffs at that.
“I am offended when I hear the term ‘buyer beware,’” Looper said. “It should never be ‘buyer beware’ in the state of Colorado. It should be more consumer-friendly.”
CONTACT THE WRITER: (303) 837-0613 or ed.sealover@gazette.com
