City of Loveland
Home MenuNews Releases
City of Loveland Utilities recognized with Source Water Protection Award
Loveland, Colo., March 25, 2026 —The American Water Works Association (AWWA) has awarded the City of Loveland Utilities with the 2026 Exemplary Source Water Protection Award, a highly competitive honor that recognizes organizations that have demonstrated excellence in promoting public health, safety and welfare through the improvement of the quality and quantity of water. These efforts directly support reliable, high-quality drinking water for the community. Loveland is the first Colorado utility to receive this award since the program and review process were established.
The Source Water Program within the Utilities Department is committed to safeguarding Loveland’s water supply and improving efficiency through data-driven decision-making, long-term planning, strong partnerships and continued enhancement of in-house capabilities. The program has significantly expanded operations since its inception 15 years ago and is now recognized as a leader in source water protection, not only in the North Central Colorado region, but also nationally.
Water Quality Manager Tim Bohling is credited with spearheading this program by adopting a proactive, holistic framework centered on comprehensive sampling and monitoring at the source, the Big Thompson River Watershed. Loveland is a primary stakeholder in the watershed, pulling its drinking water from the river to meet the needs of almost 90,000 people.
Approximately six years ago, the City further strengthened the program by hiring its first dedicated Source Water Coordinator, Andy Fayram, who was key in expanding comprehensive monitoring efforts and advancing Loveland’s proactive, watershed-based approach to source water protection. These efforts helped position the program for this recognition. “Protecting source water protects everything,” Fayram said.
“As the 14th largest municipality in the State of Colorado, we understand the responsibility we have to go beyond the basic regulatory requirements to ensure outstanding drinking water for our customers and citizens,” Bohling said. “Building this program has taken many years of development and countless hours of work by people across the organization. It is truly a team accomplishment. Being recognized by the AWWA is a meaningful acknowledgement of these achievements.”
The AWWA review process involved a rigorous evaluation of the program across core areas. Receiving high marks in each, the award is a testament to the program’s breadth of strengths.
Vision and stakeholder involvement
The program adopts a proactive approach that positions Loveland to be well prepared for emergencies by anticipating potential contaminant risks from wildfires, harmful microorganisms and chemicals. It does this by sampling and testing a wide variety of compounds, including those not yet regulated. The team utilizes partner expertise as well as in-house data to make informed decisions about sampling locations and treatment operations. One of the City’s earliest partners, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), has been providing world-class, baseline scientific data to the City for more than 30 years. The program now works with a range of collaborators, from water users and nonprofits to government agencies and academic colleagues.Source water analysis
In addition to the USGS, the City has expanded its in-house expertise by hiring specialized scientists and equipping the Water Quality Laboratory with advanced instrumentation for superior source water collection and analysis. Whereas the USGS provides long-term, consistent information about the chemistry of our water, the in-house team can be more adaptable, testing where needed and getting results with near immediacy to optimize water treatment. Remote stations are another tool, where remote monitoring systems deliver real-time information on water quality from sites up the Big Thompson Canyon directly to the Water Treatment Plant for the early detection of potential situations of concern.
Source water protection goals
Goals support four main areas:1) Using public funds responsibly: All source water protection funding passes through the City’s budgetary review process, which mandates financial efficiency and, in turn, keeps customer rates affordable while ensuring access to exceptional drinking water.
2) Advancing water science: By applying data to understand which water to use and how to treat it, risks are reduced and water is optimized efficiently. Given the large amount of data being collected, the program is well positioned to use advanced data analytics and machine learning in potential future applications, where new scenarios and lines of inquiry can be investigated to advance policy development and the science of water treatment for the public good.
3) Optimizing public health and safety: The program’s robust, multi-pronged approach of sampling, monitoring and testing across the watershed is designed to detect and prevent problems early. These approaches, coupled with a state-of-the-art Water Quality Laboratory and innovative treatment strategies, help ensure a safe and resilient system for the community.
4) Fostering collaborations: We learn and work better as a team. The City leverages its partnerships to expand funding opportunities, knowledge, capacity and technical expertise.
Action planning and implementation
The Source Water Protection Plan identifies priority needs and actions based on potential contamination risk. Wildfire is one example, ranked as the highest source of concern. In addition to fire prevention planning and education, recommendations highlight the need for post-fire, forestry mitigation to reduce and prevent soil erosion, flooding and debris flows. The City takes proactive, data-driven steps to minimize these and other impacts and ensure high-quality drinking water.
Evaluation and revisions
The Source Water Program continually evolves and refines its approaches based on partner feedback and internal evaluations. Bohling said, “The data is used for master planning across treatment facilities, from designing and implementing capital improvements to post-project assessments. The best part is we get measurable results.”
He referenced high-dollar upgrades at the Wastewater Reclamation Facility in 2019, implemented to significantly reduce harmful nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus. Did the data show a difference after implementation? “Overwhelmingly so,” he said. In fact, he said the nutrient levels recorded by the USGS were so low that the agency did a double take. “That’s good news for the community,” Bohling said, “It’s also a matter of fiscal responsibility. Data can show the outcome of our efforts and that we’re using public funds wisely, and help determine future actions, as well.”