Where: Town of Crook, Logan County, Colorado

Problem: Crook’s sewer system was under a cease and desist order and needed to be replaced.

Solution: RCAC provided a $130,000 predevelopment loan to enable the system to access U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development (USDA RD) funds.

Crook, Colorado is located in the northeast part of the state, in Logan County. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, the population was 110. Wastewater services consisted of a lagoon system, which was failing, and the sewer collection system was suffering from excessive infiltration – when ground water seeps into pipes.

Colorado Department of Public Health issued a cease and desist order, and to get back into compliance the town needed to replace its system. The town developed plans to rehabilitate the sewer collection system, construct a new mechanical wastewater treatment plant and abandon the existing lagoon facility. It applied and received approval for USDA RD funding, for which it received a Letter of Conditions. To complete the requirements in the letter, which include design engineering and land acquisition, the town needed additional funds.

RCAC’s Loan Fund provided a $130,000 predevelopment loan, which enabled the town move forward with the project, which will bring the wastewater system back into compliance with regulations and remove the cease and desist order