Boil Order
Published in the World Journal, March 19th, 2026 Issue
I hate telling my friends in larger cities that the water’s been out for four days. When you work so hard to love and improve your small town, it hurts when the only thing outsiders see is the problems with it.
Nothing makes for a big, fat, blinding “problem with it” like a nearly week-long boil order/water main failure. It’s harder to shrug off than spotty Wifi, limited eatery options, or the occasional local walking around with a machete. Instead of being quirky, it begs the question of whether these problems can ever be fixed.
In times like these in small towns — maybe in big towns too, what do I know — folks pick one of two directions in the online discourse. There are the people who throw around accusations of fraud, rail against the government, and even encourage others to sell their houses and move away! People are frustrated and scared and that is, historically, when humanity does their best lashing out.
I get it, but my-oh-my if we are worried about potential toxins, we should extend the boil order to the Facebook feeds.
The other path is that of the helpers. Dozens of people are sharing information about resources, offering to pick up water on trips to Pueblo, sharing their well water and showers. There are folks trying to organize groups to encourage accountability for these issues and regular city council and committee meeting attendees sharing the information they have.
It’s clearer than the water that used to come out of my faucet that both are sharing and impacting the community.
The former shares anger and fear, it cultivates more worry and exhaustion for an already strained community.
The latter shares agency, hope, and energy. The latter empowers and spreads love in a bleak moment.
I don’t know about you, but I certainly know which I could use more of — especially after pouring two gallons of precious water into my toilet tank for the some-teenth time for the sweet luxury of flushing.
To be so clear, I am mad. I am scared. I feel powerless. I want someone to blame. However, you will never find me serving that up publicly. When the times get tough, ‘burgers find a way to help.
Through these water woes, or the next crisis, or the mess happening in your own ‘burg if you aren’t from Walsenburg, I wonder what you are serving your community.
If you are someone looking for agency this week consider checking out the City of Walsenburg’s website for open commission seats, finding ways to show appreciation for the water workers and volunteers, check on elderly neighbors (or neighbors of any age for that matter), offer to volunteer where you can, or just spread the word about the resources that you know of.
