Colorado declares town abandoned amid water and leadership crisis
Hartman residents asked for declaration after infighting exacerbated water crisis and all town leaders resigned
A small town in south-eastern Colorado was recently declared abandoned after all of its local public leaders resigned amid a drinking water supply crisis.
The office of Colorado’s secretary of state, Jena Griswold, announced the fate of Hartman on 29 July, a little more than a month after being advised in writing that the town “had lacked chlorine in its water for [more than] one month and the water was not potable and ‘smells horrible’”, according to public documents.
Source: Theguardian.com
Original source: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/01/hartman-colorado-town-abandoned