Denver Water customers will pay more starting next year

Denver Water customers will pay more next year. The new rates will increase from $1.60 to $2.30 per month for typical single-family residential customers if they use the same amount of water next year as in 2023.

The Denver Board of Water Commissioners voted on Wednesday to adopt rate changes to help pay for important upgrades, projects and ongoing maintenance and repair work to keep its system operating efficiently.

The new rates take effect Jan. 1. 

"Denver Water is at a pivot point. These are historic times and we'll be affected, just as the communities we serve will be affected, by climate change, population growth, variability in the economy, inflation and supply chains," said Alan Salazar, Denver Water's CEO/Manager who joined the organization in August in a statement.

"Water is a crucial resource that supports all of us. You can't have civilization without it. Continuing to maintain and invest in the system that supports our water supply will ensure we — Denver Water as well as our customers — are ready for what lies ahead, while keeping rates as low as good service will allow." 

Denver Water wants to invest $1.9 billion over the next 10 years in projects to maintain, repair, protect and upgrade the system to make it more flexible and resilient in the future to continue to deliver safe, clean and affordable water to its customers. 

Additional Information from Denver Water:

Water rates to rise slightly in 2024 — Provides details on Denver Water's rate structure and how the increase impacts customer bills, including an infographic visually highlighting the impacts to customers inside and outside of Denver.

Major investment on tap — Highlights what water rates help pay for with an overview of some of the projects that make up the utility's 10-year forecast for an estimated $1.9 billion investment into the system that supports about 25% of the state's population, including Colorado's capital city. The story includes a video highlighting some of the current projects including the expansion of Gross Reservoir, the Lead Reduction Program  that is replacing customer-owned lead service lines at no direct cost to the customer, the new Northwater Treatment Plant under construction north of Golden and the new water quality laboratory now operational at the National Western Center near downtown. The investment forecast also includes improving and replacing aging water mains under the streets and improving the overall flexibility and resiliency of the system and our communities.

Since January 2020, Denver Water has replaced more than 20,000 customer-owned lead service lines at no direct cost to the customers. The utility in 2022 signed a Memorandum of Understanding with several water utilities across the West to reduce the use of water-intensive Kentucky bluegrass in places where it's purely decorative, such as traffic medians.