With residents facing water-use restrictions since April, Boulder has begun bulk water sales to Bullock Contracting for transport to a high-end resort development near the Crazy Mountains.
“Our infrastructure – pipes, treatment plants, wells, water storage tanks – represent a significant investment of public funds and we are entitled to recoup costs by charging for usage, including to contactors,” Mayor Rusty Giulio told the Aug. 18 city council meeting, citing the state law (MCA 7-13-4312) that authorizes Boulder to furnish water to bodies outside the municipality.
Boulder sold 97,000 gallons to Bullock last week, and City Administrator Brian Bullock told The Monitor on Tuesday that the sales had not been a one-off. “We are continuing to sell the bulk water as of today,” he said in an email. “We do not know how long this will continue, but we have the capacity to continue to sell as we always have.”
