Nobody is quite sure what happened to the 2.5 million gallons of water that suddenly went missing in Calhan, but mayor Bryan Eurich is confident there’s a good explanation.

At 29, Eurich grew up in Calhan and has lived there almost all his life. As a result, he says, it’s hard for him to imagine how a thief could spirit that much water out of town without anybody paying heed.

Calhan, located 35 miles east of Colorado Springs, has a population of about 780 people.

“I don’t really see anybody being able to take 2.5 million gallons out of town in water without anyone noticing,” Eurich said.

“That’s a lot of water. I think that over two or three months, it would have to be like 250 truckloads or something,” he said. “I’m pretty sure we’d notice that many trucks loading and going through town.”

So what happened to the water? The Colorado Bureau of Investigation began a probe into the case in February at the behest of Calhan police. Until recently, the town allowed bulk users to work on an honor system by taking water from hydrants and then reporting the amount and paying later.

In May, engineer L.J. Mott, District 2 director for the Upper Big Sandy Ground Water Management, said at a district meeting that as much as 2.5 million gallons more water “was pumped than what was documented as sold from the town’s municipal wells in July and August 2014,” according to the Colorado Springs Gazette.

The mystery deepened when Calhan public works director Greg Maggard left his job shortly thereafter, followed by the abrupt resignation of Calhan Mayor Blair Bartling, who denies that his decision was related to the water’s disappearance.

Bartling, who had been elected twice and had just nine months left to serve on his second term, insisted that his July 1 resignation was prompted by a dispute over whether contributions designated to pay bands at the 2015 Calhan Summer Fest should be rolled over to next year’s event.

“I resigned because of moral issues and the decision that was made spending money that was raised on Calhan Summer Fest. I did not agree with that decision,” Bartling said in an interview with KOAA-TV in Colorado Springs.

“They were local guys. I think we had an obligation to honor and at least pay them a little money for what they had done for the past few years for free,” he said.

He said the town had been running its water bulk water sales on the honor system, a practice that has since been changed.

“That [CBI] investigation, if it’s there, has nothing to do with my resignation whatsoever,” Bartling said. “We believe that was done through a water-main break. No one to my knowledge has given water away or anything like that,” he said.

Eurich, who took over as mayor after a unanimous vote of the trustees at the July 13 meeting, said he has no reason not to believe Bartling’s explanation.

“I talked to him. We’re friends because I’ve known him for a long time, so after he resigned, it was a shock to me,” Eurich said. “That’s what he told me so I have no reason to believe otherwise.”

As for Maggard, he left on good terms after receiving a job offer near Buena Vista that provided a higher salary and allowed him to live closer to his family, Eurich said.

Mott declined a request for an interview, but The Gazette said that “reports of large amounts of water collected by Rocky Mountain Materials and Asphalt, Inc. tanker trucks last summer brought his attention to the matter.”

Eurich said the situation with Rocky Mountain Materials was resolved last year after town officials spoke to them about violations of the honor system.

“There were a couple of drivers who were taking water and hadn’t paid for it, but we brought it to Rocky Mountain Materials’ attention and they paid for it,” Eurich said.

Shortly after that, Calhan ended its honor system, installed a metering requirement and began requiring a town employee to oversee water dispersals, he said.

Like Bartling, Eurich says he believes last year’s rupture could explain the water’s disappearance.

“There’s two water-main breaks that could easily account for a huge amount of that,” Eurich said.

CBI spokeswoman Susan Medina confirmed that the agency is investigating the possibility of a water theft, “but that’s about as deep as I can get into because it’s an active investigation.”

Eurich, who says he plans to run to keep his post next April, says the initial flurry of speculation about the possible water theft has died down somewhat.

“There’s still talk, but it’s not as big of news as when it first came out. Until we find out what the CBI says, there’s not a whole lot we can do about it,” he said.

Given that he’s not yet 30 and looks even younger, Eurich says he’s sometimes asked if he’s old enough to be mayor. He works as a dialysis technician for DaVita in Colorado Springs and also serves as a Calhan volunteer firefighter and EMT.

“People are just wondering what happened, as we all are,” Eurich said. “But I’ve been reassuring them that there’s nothing to worry about and it will all turn out fine in the end.”

– valrichardson17@gmail.com