Colorado Water
Fees for water taps are rising dramtically in the Metro area, according to the Rocky Mountain News [January 19, 2004, "Fees for water taps surge in metro area"]. Well that's how free markets work. Here in the west there is no guarantee that you will have cheap water or any water at all for that matter. From the article, "Water tap fees have nearly doubled in many parts of the Denver metro area in the past five years and likely will continue to climb. Tap fees are charges assessed by a municipality or water district for new developments to hook into the existing delivery system. The fees pay, in part, for the purchase of water rights, pipeline construction and additional water treatment plants. As those costs continue to rise, the tap fees do the same. In Broomfield, for example, tap fees are nearly $20,000 for each single-family home, up from $9,241 in 1998. Home builders pay the fee and generally pass the cost along to the home buyer. Scott Miller is vice president of Amber Homes, which specializes in building affordable, 'entry-level' homes. For some first-time home buyers, even a $1,000 increase could make it impossible for them to come up with a down payment or qualify for a loan, Miller said. Generally, older, more established cities can charge less for tap fees because their delivery systems have been in place for years. Denver, for example, has one of the metro area's cheapest water tap fees, charging about $4,390 for an 8,500-square-foot lot in the city limits."
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