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As County leaders, we must protect our region. Our quality of life is directly connected to our commitment to build a tomorrow that preserves the best of today. This vision includes protecting our natural resources, utilizing our county’s resources in a fiscally-smart manner, and wisely planning for our future. Thank you for standing with us.
Water is a Key Driver in Rising Home Prices
Affordable housing is one of Colorado’s toughest challenges, including in fast-growing Douglas County.
A major factor in high housing costs is the sharply rising fees builders pay to connect to water and sewer systems – fees that have doubled in some Front Range municipalities.
While “tap fees” can be a necessary source of revenue for local governments, including Douglas County, there is more to why consumers have to pay high fees and home prices.
Let’s be real, the rationale for increasing those fees are tied to the rising cost of water, and the steadily growing pressure on existing, non-renewable water supplies in aquifers that the Front Range has been sipping dry.
Castle Rock has a $42,000 tap fee for every single home or unit. Castle Rock leaders told media that its fees are rising due to “dwindling aquifer resources and ever-higher prices to secure new surface water from the state’s over-taxed mountain river basins.”
In Jefferson County, fast growing Arvada has doubled its tap fee to $54,000 according to media reports, while sharply increasing water rates for existing customers.
This, for homebuyers, is simple math.
If a home price starts with a mandatory $54,000 tap fee before one additional dime goes into the builder’s costs, it’s easy to see why housing prices can often be out of reach of middle-class, first-time homebuyers.
In fact, the Colorado Home Builders Association reports that tap fees are responsible for at least 10 percent of the cost of a home.
The solution? Water conservation is important but cannot fix Douglas County’s growing water problem. Parker, Castle Rock, and others say the key is finding new sources of renewable water since the majority of our water comes from a dying, prehistoric pool of water underneath us that is drying up.
In fact, Castle Rock has stated its goal of being 100 percent on renewable water in the years ahead.
Addressing the serious challenge of affordable housing requires an in-depth look at tap fees, and aggressively seeking renewable water options to at least stem the increase in fees that are at the foundation of area housing costs.
Recent Headlines
Water vs. growth: Colorado communities, developers struggle to juggle both
Developers look for more incentives to aid bottom line; cities, towns employ variety of strategies in face of constrained water supplies
…Across the Denver area, local governments, water utilities, homebuilders and developers are employing a number of strategies to meet the demands for housing, respond to growth and strive to ensure the long-term supply of the resource essential to a future in this semi-arid region: water.
What we pay for water doesn't reflect how scarce it is with climate change. Could cities get people to use less water by charging more for it? Decades ago, Tucson did this, and it worked. But the political consequences may have scared off other cities. Now, in an increasingly dire situation along the Colorado River, what if a bunch of cities priced water differently, to change our behavior?
Douglas County approves $1.6 million to help improve Louviers water
Will also help fix Sedalia water issues
Years of high levels of radium, a contaminant linked to the risk of cancer, in the rural community of Louviers may soon come to an end now that Douglas County sent federal funding to help the local water system fix the problem.
Arizona Faces an Existential Dilemma: Import Water or End Its Housing Boom
This month, a suburb of Scottsdale, Ariz., found itself in the nightmare scenario for all communities living in the U.S.’ drought-stricken southwest: the water got shut off. Rio Verde Foothills, a community of some 600 homes, sprang up in the 1970s without its own piped water supply. For decades, it had relied on water trucked in from the city. But 20 years into a severe region-wide drought, Scottsdale says it must now conserve its water, which it gets from the Colorado River via a canal, for its own residents. Rio Verde Foothills’ residents are now skipping showers and driving miles in search of drinking water. On Jan. 12, the community filed a high-profile lawsuit against Scottsdale.
Did you know? 77 percent of Douglas County residents would like the county to coordinate water efforts currently administered by multiple water districts.
Upcoming News from DCFF
Every other week, DCFF will report on important news and challenges impacting our community. We hope you will stay engaged and connected with us.
