Monument skips bids to fast-track emergency water well repair

BY SAVANNAH ELLER | THE DENVER GAZETTE

Monument has bypassed its usual bidding process to complete emergency repairs on a well important to the town’s water availability. 

“We’re living on borrowed time, potentially,” said Jonathan Rigaud, Monument water manager. 

Well 7 has been out of commission since July 9, when it unexpectedly shut down. After an investigation, the town discovered that wiring issues were to blame. 

Wells are the main source of water for a portion of Monument residents west of Interstate 25, where the town’s water enterprise is the main provider. The town has 13 wells, three of which went online in November.

The other side of Monument is supplied by other water districts. 

The well needs to be repaired to maintain the town’s water capacity and system redundancy, especially since the outage hit during a peak demand period. Monument used a record amount of water in 2024, including 21 million gallons in July, which broke the previous record of 19 million gallons.

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