Mayor's Update
7/7/2026
Huntsville Residents,
I hope you had a great 4th of July, and I want to thank everyone who participated and volunteered to make it such a great event. We have something special here in Huntsville, and as much as we try to keep our celebration small, it always seems to attract a huge turnout. Every year, it feels like more people come to celebrate with us.
We realize the impact on our residents can be significant, and I truly appreciate your willingness to open your arms, yards, and roads to those who want to celebrate with us. Thank you for your patience and hospitality and for helping make the 4th of July in Huntsville so special.
Water Update
In light of the recent water disruptions, I wanted to give you an update on the status of our water system and explain a little more about what has been happening.
As you may recall, following our major leak in December 2024, we were able to secure nearly $1.7 million in grants and low-interest loans to replace a particularly problematic section of our distribution pipe. The section in question is located in the southeast corner of the valley and runs west from our water treatment plant.
This section of pipe has been particularly problematic for a couple of reasons. First, the soil is extremely porous and rocky, making leaks very difficult to locate. When a leak occurs, the water typically never reaches the surface and instead filters into the rocky soil.
Second, it appears that when the pipe was installed about 25 years ago, it was not properly bedded. Over time, rocks and ground movement have caused the pipe to become punctured and fail in numerous locations.
In recent weeks, we have noticed a significant increase in water usage. In the middle of the night, when flows should typically be 30 gallons per minute or less, we have been seeing flows of approximately 120 gallons per minute. To compound the problem, the output from our spring, which is normally quite abundant, has been flowing at a significantly reduced rate.
Simply put, we have been using, or losing, more water than we can produce. As a result, we have struggled at times to maintain adequate levels in our one-million-gallon storage tank.
For several weeks, we have had teams actively searching for leaks. About three weeks ago, we located and repaired a sizable leak just below our water storage tank. Last week, with the help of a team of experts, we located two additional leaks along the infamous stretch of pipe west of our water plant.
Unfortunately, we have been patching holes almost as quickly as they appear. We have now had approximately 8 significant leaks and repairs along this section of pipe.
Now for the good news.
We hope to begin construction on the new water line within the next few weeks, with the goal of having it completed by fall. The engineering work is complete, the request for proposals has been issued, and contractors are currently bidding on the project.
Bids are due July 15. We expect to award the project shortly thereafter, followed by contractor mobilization and installation of the new line.
I know the recent water disruptions have been frustrating. No one likes turning on the faucet and finding there is no water, especially with little or no notice. Unfortunately, many of these leaks happen suddenly, and because they are so difficult to locate, our crews are often working against the clock to find and repair them before our storage levels become critically low.
I want you to know that we recognize the inconvenience these outages cause. Over the past several weeks, our water staff, Town employees, and others have spent countless hours searching for leaks, working late into the night, and doing everything possible to keep water flowing to our residents. I am extremely grateful for their efforts.
We appreciate your patience and understanding over the past couple of years as we have navigated these near-catastrophic water leaks. We are hopeful that once this new section of pipe is installed and placed into service, we will finally have much better reliability throughout our water system.
Thank you for your patience and for continuing to work with us as we get through this.
Respectfully,
Richard L. Sorensen Mayor