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Colorado declares town abandoned amid water and leadership crisis
The Guardian • • nation
Key Points:
- The small town of Hartman in south-eastern Colorado was declared abandoned on July 29 after all local public leaders resigned amid a prolonged drinking water crisis involving unchlorinated, foul-smelling water and a boil-water order.
- Hartman, with fewer than 60 residents as of the 2020 census, had no functioning town government or board of trustees, rendering it unable to hold elections or manage critical water infrastructure.
- The town's decline was marked by intense political infighting, accusations of fraud, and physical altercations at meetings, which prevented necessary water system repairs and assistance from water operators.
- Colorado’s secretary of state granted a formal abandonment request, stating that dissolution was necessary to resolve the health hazard and allow Prowers county to assume responsibility for providing clean water.
- Some residents, like Shawna Casey, opposed the abandonment, arguing that Hartman was failed by the protective systems rather than being a failed town itself.
