Denver Water plans public hearings before raising rates 7 to 10%, according to the Denver Post [August 25, 2005, "Water rates set to take a spurt up"]. From the article, "About 85 percent of Denver Water's customers pay a two- month meter charge of $8.51. Under the proposed increase, that would rise to $9.15, which is a 7.5 percent increase. To calculate the consumption charge, the utility divides users into city and suburban customers and then charges them based on water use. To calculate that charge, the utility splits customers into three 'blocks' that assign rates based on how much water they use: 0 to 22,000 gallons; 23,000 to 60,000 gallons; and more than 60,000 gallons. The staff's preference is to add a fourth block for high-end users and adjust rates so high-volume consumers pay more. For example, under the existing structure, a person who lives in the city and uses 18,000 gallons of water every two months pays $1.71 per thousand gallons - or $30.78 in consumption charges on their bill. Under the proposal, that same customer would be charged $1.81 per thousand gallons for the first 16,000 gallons and $2.17 for each of the next two thousand gallons. The bill would be $33.30. A city household that uses more than 80,000 gallons in a two-month period would pay a rate of $3.53 per thousand gallons, almost double the lower-use home."
Meanwhile Jefferson County is wrestling with regulations to ensure adequate water supplies in the rural western part of the county, according to the Denver Post [August 25, 2005, "Jeffco to resume work on proposed water rules for foothills"]. They write, "Jefferson County officials plan another stab at creating regulations to require people building in the foothills to prove there is sufficient water and that their use won't affect their neighbors' supply. Workshops and community meetings will review criteria for the regulations, which county planning director Tim Carl said Wednesday should take about a year."
Category: Colorado Water
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