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Week of February 9, 2023
ARAPAHOE COUNTY, COLORADO
A publication of
EnglewoodHerald.net
VOLUME 102 | ISSUE 52
Our in-depth look at the housing crisis
Englewood deals with chemicals in water BY TAYLER SHAW TSHAW@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Governor stresses more housing is key to Colorado’s economic health BY ELLIS ARNOLD EARNOLD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
If lawmakers don’t act to make housing more affordable now, “we will soon face a spiraling point of no return.” That’s what Gov. Jared Polis said in January, during his annual State of the State Address. He noted myriad problems linked to rising housing costs. People, he said, “are being forced out of their neighborhoods with no hope of ever living close to where they work.” “That means more traffic, lost
time and money spent on long commutes, more air pollution, and greater economic and workforce challenges,” Polis said. Polis added that rising housing prices are “putting the dream of homeownership out of range for more and more Coloradans.” The governor’s assessment squares with the findings of Colorado Community Media in our four-week series exploring what many experts say is a housing crisis — one that affects practically everyone in the Denver area. Lower-income workers are seeing larger chunks of their paychecks
INSIDE: CALENDAR: PAGE 13 | VOICES: PAGE 14 | SPORTS: PAGE 26
go to landlords. Young families can’t find starter homes they can afford. Retirees don’t see any attractive options for moving and downsizing, meaning their homes stay off the market, helping keep prices high. “Just look west,” Polis said in his address. “In California, decades of poor planning has led to interruptions of drinking water and electricity for entire towns and cities, average home prices over $1 million in major cities and 16lane freeways” with “bumper-toSEE STRESSES, P16
Following changes by the Environmental Protection Agency last year, levels of man-made chemicals in Englewood’s water are now above the EPA’s newest interim health advisory levels, the city announced recently. The city, which supplies drinking water to approximately 57,000 people, said on its website there is not an immediate public health risk and people do not need to stop drinking their water. However, exposure to low concentrations of these chemicals over time can cause health effects, said Pieter Van Ry, director of the Englewood Utilities Department and the South Platte Renew, during a Jan. 23 city council special meeting. Englewood is not alone in facing this issue, as other water systems throughout Colorado — such as the Arapahoe County Water and Wastewater Authority in Centennial, the City of Brighton and the City of Thornton — have also detected chemicals above the EPA’s health advisory levels. Understanding health advisory levels
The EPA sets health advisory levels to “indicate the level of drinking water contamination below which adverse health effects are not expected to occur,” according to a 2022 news release. These health advisories are nonenforceable and non-regulatory, but aim to offer information to help protect people’s health, the EPA said on its website. SEE WATER, P2
STARTING WITH NATURE Museum exhibit eyes influence of natural world
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