By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics
The hopes for clean drinking water for more than 50,000 families in the Arkansas Valley in southeastern Colorado could take one more significant step forward with the introduction of legislation this week to finalize payment arrangements for the Arkansas Valley Conduit.
The conduit is a 130-mile pipeline that starts at Pueblo Reservoir and goes to Lamar, just shy of the Colorado-Kansas border. According to Bill Long of the Southeastern Colorado Water Conservation District, it is intended to provide clean drinking water to the residents of the Arkansas Valley. For decades, they have relied on wells with water that contains high levels of salt, selenium, and even radioactive materials. Selenium is the most difficult to eradicate, he said.