2026 Newsletter
President’s 2025 Review from Karen Morgan
Happy 2026!
The new year brings a time of reflection on the decisions faced in 2025 and what’s occurring in 2026.
The Bend development at the Federal Center
The beginning of 2025 saw continued policy debates over how to make The Bend development safer.
The Bend development is on the old Federal Center property. It is a fixer-upper property because it contains a toxic landfill that hasn’t been remediated. Residents have concerns that there is contamination that will not be remediated correctly, or that there are more problems than are being reported. People worried that no one is holding the developers accountable.
As part of GMWSD, we made sure that there was an independent environmental review that would allow further testing in 2024, if required. However, on May 12, 2025, before that work could be completed, Lakewood granted the developers a new metropolitan district and a new Urban Renewal Area.
Lakewood took action during the busy GMWSD election period. The board at that time lodged no objection to stop the new overlapping metropolitan district. As a result, GMWSD eventually voted to exclude this area from the district and allow Lakewood to serve the area without GMWSD oversight. On December 8, 2025, Lakewood entered a developer agreement to serve The Bend themselves.
Bottom line is that The Bend is no longer a GMWSD concern.
The 2025 GMWSD Board
In May 2025 there was an election for four Board Directors. The three 2025 elected board members were Roger Wendell, David Weichman and Arther Martinez. Philip Hardinger was later appointed to fill in the fourth vacancy. Karen Morgan remained President, Roger Wendell was elected Vice President and Philip Hardinger was elected Treasurer. Director Wendell stepped up to also serve as Secretary. Directors Weichman and Martinez declined an officer position.
The next election will be in May 2027, with candidates self-nominating early 2027.
Lakewood Zoning Increases GMWSD Infrastructure Needs
Lakewood’s plan to increase densification is a problem for GMWSD. Our infrastructure is at capacity. Ideally, Lakewood should have addressed infrastructure needs in their development plans but since they did not, GMWSD lodged formal objections. Lakewood responded that they will file our concerns for next time they develop a Comprehensive Plan, which is currently scheduled for the year 2040.
Lakewood’s planned densification increases needed capacity – and costs - immediately. The new zoning allows any house to be used at maximum occupancy based on building codes – which could mean 30 people in a single house. For example, any house in any neighborhood could now be used as a homeless shelter, without any additional permits. GMWSD does not monitor how people live in a property so currently there is no way to accurately assess fees for changing the approved property use.
GMWSD is being forced to take further legal action in order to protect the district.
2026 Budget
The second half of the year was dominated by budget discussions. We have all felt the impact of rising costs, inflation, and now, ageing infrastructure.
Large swaths of GMWSD were built from the 1950s on. Those pipes are past their typical lifespan and many need replaced. However, GMWSD did not plan for this day, until recently.
You have been seeing the effect of our replacement plan with higher bills. We explored options for fees, timing, and goals for months. We took all the negative feedback very seriously. The Board shares your pain – we have higher bills also!
GMWSD is already accomplishing much. The 2026 budget includes plans for improving 25,000 linear feet of pipe. That’s five times as much as 2022 but the progress is still slow enough that it will take us ten years to catch up on our oldest pipes.
District staff are developing a progress board so that rate-payers can monitor how much we are accomplishing with their money.
Flat Rates
The GMWSD Board voted to flatten water rates this year. That means that all residential and multi-family units will pay the same dollar per 1,000 gallons of water used. Before this, high water users paid more by volume and also more by rate, as a double deterrent to using water. The goal was to encourage water conservation.
However, an unintended consequence of this policy has been the sacrifice of healthy yards and soils. According to a new lawsuit in Nevada, a law to “remove ‘useless grass’ in Nevada to conserve water has so far killed 100,000 trees and caused around $300 million worth of damage.” Read more about the suit here – Thank you former Director Alex Plotkin for contributing this information.
People who use less water will still have lower bills than people who use more, and vice versa, based on how much water is used, so conservation goals will still be achieved.
Fluoride
A little policy with big implications, in 2025 GMWSD notified Denver Water that we support removing fluoride from drinking water, now that new information on long-term negative health effects is becoming public.
Upcoming in 2026
The biggest challenge in 2026 will be how to address Lakewood’s zoning changes..
On February 10, 2026, the Board unanimously vote to support a vote “yes” in the upcoming special election. Our goal is to safeguard the district and guarantee that existing ratepayers are not responsible for unfunded mandates.
You can see the full resolution, which includes legal foundation, at: https://www.greenmountainwater.org/resolution-of-the-board-of-directors-in-support-of-ballot-issues-in-the-april-7-2026-coordinated-election
Thank you GMWSD Staff
We could not provide excellent service without our staff. Our District Manager, field crews, customer service, IT, and budget personnel are doing outstanding work. Every department has faced new challenges in 2025 and has succeeded in contributing to the GMWSD mission. Everyone does their best every day. As Board President and a GMWSD ratepayer, I appreciate all their efforts. Thank you!
Thank you for reading this annual review and taking an interest in your district. I look forward to hearing your comments and answering any questions you might have.
Kind regards,
Karen
Karen Morgan
Karen.morgan@greenmountainwater.org
Board President
Green Mountain Water & Sanitation Board Director