‘Water is gold’: Boulder aims to mend system with ARPA funds

The city of Boulder is closer to deciding how it will spend money it received from the American Rescue Plan Act, planning to put most of it toward repairing a water distribution system that an engineering assessment showed is in need of major repair and improvement.

Boulder City Council President Drew Dawson presented the city’s plan for its ARPA funds at a public hearing on Aug. 17, listing four main objectives that the city was looking to use the money for: the city’s water system, broadband internet access, a child care facility in Boulder and hiring a grant administrator. City leaders said they hoped to receive feedback on the proposed plan, and that allocations would be formally decided at a future meeting.

The city qualified for $325,940 of ARPA funds through a “formula-based” assessment by the federal government, and will receive the funds in two yearly installments, according to Dawson. The city received the first half the funds in June and will receive the second half in June 2022. In the presentation Dawson put together for the hearing, he outlined a tentative budget for the total that the city will receive between 2021 and 2022. He said the budget was still subject to change depending on whether the city receives any other sources of ARPA funding—and it’s dependant on public input.