W&S Construction Crews Add Value to Provided Services

You deserve clean, safe, great-tasting drinking water straight to your tap—and the City of Greeley works hard each day to ensure that happens. That’s why, in 2025, our Water and Sewer Department created two in-house construction crews made up of certified water operators. These are City employees who know Greeley’s water system inside and out.

Why does that matter to you? Because when we use our own crews—rather than hiring outside contractors—we can fix problems faster, keep projects moving and make sure the work is done right the first time. That helps protect the system you count on and shows smart stewardship of your water utility rate dollars.

Right now, one of the crews’ biggest projects is moving water lines out of backyards and into the street in front of homes in the Farr Neighborhood. Many of these pipes are more than 70 years old and more likely to break.

“As we relocate these older backyard lines, we’re reducing break risks and making future repairs far less disruptive for residents,” said Damen Ratliff, Transmission and Distribution Operations Team Manager. “When a main is in the street, we can get to the leak quickly and avoid tearing up fences, sheds, and landscaping—saving time, hassle and money for the community.”

So far, our crews have tackled big upgrades like water line upsizing on 27th Street and 22nd Avenue, flow improvements on C Street, and an emergency water line replacement on 6th Street. These projects boost water flow, improve reliability and strengthen fire protection in key areas.

Bottom line: by repairing and maintaining existing infrastructure and building new infrastructure, we’re helping Greeley meet growing water demands—while protecting your investment and keeping service dependable.