Looking north from downtown Shoshoni in 2018. (Andrew Graham/WyoFile)
Share this:

A measure to spend $8 million to assess what it would take to fix aging wastewater and stormwater infrastructure sailed out of the Senate Agriculture, State and Public Lands and Water Resources Committee on a unanimous vote.

Senate File 69, “Waste and storm water infrastructure study,” would tap the Strategic Investments and Projects Account and support a four-year statewide assessment to help town and state officials determine exact needs and costs, according to the bill’s proponents.

Crews scrambled in 2023 to repair multiple breaks in a water pipeline that serves the twin towns of Kemmerer and Diamondville. (Kemmerer-Diamondville)

Some estimate that upgrading municipal water systems across the state could cost billions of dollars.

“Across Wyoming, these systems are aging, strained and, in many cases, operating far beyond their intended lifespan,” Wyoming Association of Municipalities Executive Director Ashley Harpstreith told the committee. “Most of the municipal water infrastructure was built 40 to 60 years ago, and communities are now facing escalating failures, emergency repairs and rising compliance costs.”

Wyoming’s small towns are in a pinch, Harpstreith added. They must upgrade aging water infrastructure to meet national standards, but they have among the smallest per-capita bases in the nation to generate necessary funds. While it’s typically up to each town to fund its own water systems, they inevitably seek help from state and federal sources.

Lander Republican Rep. Lloyd Larsen suggested that a comprehensive assessment of needs will help towns understand what they might have to charge residents to pay for upgrades. It will also give state officials credible estimates when towns inevitably ask for help.

“So this information is going to help us make a much more educated estimate on the needs,” Larsen said. That information, he added, could then help the state determine the source of financing and revenue to tap into to help municipalities get caught up and maintain their critical infrastructure.

The bill moves to the Senate Appropriations Committee.

CLARIFICATION: This story was updated to clarify the bill was sent to the Senate Appropriations Committee. —Ed

For more legislative coverage, click here

Dustin Bleizeffer covers energy and climate at WyoFile. He has worked as a coal miner, an oilfield mechanic, and for more than 25 years as a statewide reporter and editor primarily covering the energy...

Join the Conversation

1 Comment

WyoFile's goal is to provide readers with information and ideas that foster constructive conversations about the issues and opportunities our communities face. One small piece of how we do that is by offering a space below each story for readers to share perspectives, experiences and insights. For this to work, we need your help.

What we're looking for: 

  • Your real name — first and last. 
  • Direct responses to the article. Tell us how your experience relates to the story.
  • The truth. Share factual information that adds context to the reporting.
  • Thoughtful answers to questions raised by the reporting or other commenters.
  • Tips that could advance our reporting on the topic.
  • No more than three comments per story, including replies. 

What we block from our comments section, when we see it:

  • Pseudonyms. WyoFile stands behind everything we publish, and we expect commenters to do the same by using their real name.
  • Comments that are not directly relevant to the article. 
  • Demonstrably false claims, what-about-isms, references to debunked lines of rhetoric, professional political talking points or links to sites trafficking in misinformation.
  • Personal attacks, profanity, discriminatory language or threats.
  • Arguments with other commenters.

Other important things to know: 

  • Appearing in WyoFile’s comments section is a privilege, not a right or entitlement. 
  • We’re a small team and our first priority is reporting. Depending on what’s going on, comments may be moderated 24 to 48 hours from when they’re submitted — or even later. If you comment in the evening or on the weekend, please be patient. We’ll get to it when we’re back in the office.
  • We’re not interested in managing squeaky wheels, and even if we wanted to, we don't have time to address every single commenter’s grievance. 
  • Try as we might, we will make mistakes. We’ll fail to catch aliases, mistakenly allow folks to exceed the comment limit and occasionally miss false statements. If that’s going to upset you, it’s probably best to just stick with our journalism and avoid the comments section.
  • We don’t mediate disputes between commenters. If you have concerns about another commenter, please don’t bring them to us.

The bottom line:

If you repeatedly push the boundaries, make unreasonable demands, get caught lying or generally cause trouble, we will stop approving your comments — maybe forever. Such moderation decisions are not negotiable or subject to explanation. If civil and constructive conversation is not your goal, then our comments section is not for you. 

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  1. Municipal wastewater systems are supposed to have “sinking funds” These funds are for future long term improvements. The sinking fund or enterprise account is funded by revenue collected from user fees. Unfortunately, over the course of years, either thru mismanagement or “lack of intellectual capability”, too many small cities are seriously underfunded. The reluctance to charge users a fee that would include monies to pay for future improvements is a ideology that needs to change. Anything that we can do to help small municipalities to understand their capital improvement needs going forward will be money well spent, and ultimately a savings for all of Wyoming.

    Reply