When Bayfield imposed a sewer-tap moratorium to ease pressure on the town's overworked sanitation system, it sent ripples through the local economy.  A state regulatory agency, prompted by the politically influential Southern Ute Indian Tribe, which lies downstream on the Pine River, issued a moratorium on building permits in Bayfield in April 2006. The town followed with its own moratorium on sewer taps from February to May 2007. It was an embarrassing and frustrating crisis for Bayfield. So what went wrong? "It was a lack of planning," said Town Manager Justin Clifton. The Bayfield Sanitation District, led by a five-member board, drew much of the blame for allowing growth to overload antiquated sewage lagoons. The town of Bayfield wrested control of its residents' sanitation needs from the district in April 2006, and voters followed up by abolishing the district in a lopsided vote this November. It is planned to be formally dissolved Dec. 31.

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