By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2026-07-30 20:26:24 | Updated at 2026-08-10 17:26:30
1 week ago
A quaint Colorado town has officially been abandoned after its entire government quit and their failing infrastructure left residents without clean water.
Hartman, home to about 30 people, has been without a Board of Trustees since January.
Its last mayor, Catherine Fernandez, resigned several months prior in October 2025, claiming that she could no longer stand the infighting between neighbors and families.
The town's water system has been neglected for years, with a boil order in effect since around that time.
A 2025 inspection found bacteria common in animal waste in the water supply.
Five years before that, an inspection by the state ruled that the tower's condition was 'poor' after discovering holes and corrosion in its roof.
On Tuesday, the Colorado Department of State ordered that Hartman should be abandoned in order to allow for the area's residents to receive clean water.
In an abandonment order, state Deputy Secretary of State Andrew J. Kline said that this was the only legal mechanism in Colorado that would create 'an avenue for residents of the area to receive clean water.'
The small town of Hartman, Colorado, which is home to approximately 30 people, has officially been abandoned
Catherine Fernandez, the previous Mayor of the quaint Colorado town, resigned in October 2025 because she could no longer tolerate the feuds between neighbors and families
Eric Bergman, the director of the division of local government for Colorado's Department of Local Affairs, said Hartman could not use more than $1 million in grants for their neglected water system while the town lacked a government
The abandonment procedures officially started when Hartman resident Jessie Simmons submitted a written application to the Secretary of State on June 17.
Simmons pointed to how the town's leaders had quit their posts and noted the abysmal water infrastructure, per the order signed by Kline on Tuesday.
In the abandonment application, Simmons claimed Hartman had lacked chlorine in its water for more than one month and that the non-potable water 'smells horrible.'
That led to a July 13 public hearing on the matter, which further shed light on the town's decrepit state.
Eric Bergman, the director of the division of local government for the Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA), testified that Hartman had no government officials since the town's trustees resigned in January.
Bergman also said that the town lacked a clerk, as well as a governing body to conduct and certify municipal elections.
He noted that DOLA, as well as the Colorado Department of Health and Environment, had previously given more than $1 million to Hartman in grants meant to be for the water system.
However, the town could not agree to contracts that would allow it to access those grants while it did not have a government.
Colorado Deputy Secretary of State Andrew J. Kline signed the order, adding that not abandoning the town would ' ‘leave the residents in further legal limbo during a health hazard' without being able to hold elections or fix their water system
Until May, Colorado towns could only be abandoned if they had failed to hold elections and maintain a government for five years.
However, that changed when Hartman's board or trustees resigned in January.
After that, the Colorado legislature amended the statute to create an exception for towns who own or operate a water infrastructure that is critical to residents.
The abandonment order noted how some residents were against abandoning the quaint town despite its longstanding issues.
One resident, Shawna Casey, argued that Hartman was 'not a failed town' but that it had been 'failed by the systems designed to protect it.'
Casey provided evidence that she had contacted Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, several state legislators, clerks, the US Department of State and other authorities for help restoring the town's water system and voting rights, according to the letter.
The order added that a separate resident, Dawn Railsback, had filed a petition seeking a special election.
However, Railsback's petition was denied by the District Court of Prowers County.
Hartman's water infrastructure was neglected for years. A boil order has been in effect since October 2025, and a resident recently said the water was non-potable and smelled 'horrible'
In the letter, Kline said he found the opposition credible and lauded their 'thoughtfulness, conviction, passion, diligence, preparation, and presentations.'
However, he wrote that not abandoning Hartman would 'leave the residents in further legal limbo during a health hazard, with no authority to conduct business, hold elections, or fix their water infrastructure so that clean water can be delivered to the town residents.'
For now, Prowers County is set to take control of Hartman's water infrastructure, streets and town-owned property.
After that, the county will transfer control of the water system to an operator, according to the letter.
The decision to abandon Hartman can be appealed in the Denver District Court until late August.
The Colorado Department of State told the Daily Mail on Thursday that it had no further comment on Hartman's abandonment and would not speculate on an appeal.
