A small group of concerned citizens have been working together to keep the spring running and accessible to those who take away small amounts of water since October 2018. During that time very few additional folks have joined in the effort.  

The group believes there is educational, historic, civic, cultural and tourism potential in this small artesian spring. They have spent many hours emailing and meeting with law makers, regulators, bureaucrats, news media, government entities, non profit groups, grant sources, water retailers and others.

Teller County Commissioners and the Teller County Administrator, Colorado Department of Transportation, Colorado Department of Water Resources, the District Water Commissioners, and our Colorado State Representative have all expressed their desire to see the group succeed in keep the spring flowing and have given us ideas, direction, and showed us tremendous respect and patience. 

If the spring is to remain flowing in some capacity, action must be taken immediately.  The consensus of all regulatory parties is that taking large amounts of water must cease.  The law is clear that water taken from the spring is in violation of the state water regulations. To begin complying with the regulations and show good faith, the tank will either be modified/removed to prevent the use of submerged water pumps.  While the removal/modification of the tank may not be popular with everyone, it is the first step in a process to maintain some ongoing flow of the spring.   In other words, the choice is simple; either 1) NO ACCESS at all for anyone, or 2) Modified Access to prevent hundreds of gallons of water being taken by a single party.                                                                      

Since October 2018 data has been collected from those using the spring.  This data indicates that the majority of the water is being used for household purposes and in some instances this water is being obtained by low income individuals to fill cisterns.  While it is unfortunate that some households have become dependent upon the spring for their water, this represents a small percentage of the users.  Other options do exist and plans are being considered as to how these users can be assisted.