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Don't like the cost of gas at the pump? Inflationary water rates get even spookier.
It’s no surprise that inflation is a top concern among voters in this year’s election, with prices rising sharply and rapidly on virtually all goods and services. While the greatest focus may be on groceries and gas, consumers are also getting sticker shock from their water bills
No matter where you live on the Front Range, your water provider has been raising your rates, with additional increases expected in 2023.
Denver Water, which serves over 2 million metro area customers has raised rates significantly every year for the past decade.
Aurora Water has proposed rate increases as the city government enacts ordinances that drastically limit the size of lawns in newly built homes and bans new golf courses.
Centennial Water, whose service area includes Highlands Ranch, is hiking rates by 12 percent.
The growing water challenges in our area is also contributing to inflation in the housing market, further deepening the affordable housing challenges in the region.
For example, the fee in Castle Rock to hook up new homes to its water system – a system dependent on the oversubscribed, nonrenewable Denver Aquifer – has risen from $37,000 to $42,000 in 2022 alone.
This is not a reaction to a periodic “dry spell.” This is a long-simmering problem that requires a long-range solution.
The price of water has increased dramatically along the Front Range over the past 20 years. For example, the price of the benchmark share for trading water along the Front Range has risen from $15,000 in 2010 to over $80,000 a share in 2022.
The cost of water continues to escalate rapidly while the availability of this precious resource decreases.
The key in inflationary times is to try to get ahead of the sharply rising price curve.
In water, that means local and county governments, and water authorities, need to proactively look at every option for high-quality renewable water, and not continue to bide time hoping that the inflation curve flattens.
We need our elected leaders to make strategic investments in water supply now to save Douglas County residents hundreds of millions of dollars in the future when the price of water will have surged even higher.
Recent Headlines
The California City of Coalinga Will Run Out of Water in Two Months: If the old coal town runs out of water, city bosses say they will be forced to buy more on the private market for obscene prices
With California in the midst of the worst drought on record, the Fresno city of Coalinga, pop. 17,000, is being hit harder than anywhere else in the state, according to the Washington Post. In fact, city officials expect to be completely tapped out within two months.
...“I cringe when I say this,” Sean Brewer, Coalinga’s assistant city manager told the City Council on August 4 when he reported that water that normally cost the city $190 per acre-foot was being sold on the open market for as much as $2,500 per acre-foot. To buy enough water to last the rest of the year, the city might need up to $2.5 million. Compare that to the city’s entire budget: $10 million.
How two big Denver suburbs are approaching the reality that they’re running out of water: Fast-growing Castle Rock starts with a turf ban, while Arvada doubles connection fees. Water prices are now part of the affordable housing equation.
…Castle Rock is banning traditional grass turf in front yards of new homes and offering developers steep fee discounts for water-saving “Coloradoscaping” yards.
...Arvada, on the opposite corner of the Denver metro area to the northwest, is more than doubling homebuilders’ water and sewer connection fees and sharply raising existing homeowners’ utility rates.
The two cities’ big moves, combined with Aurora’s recent decision to restrict new lawns and ban new golf courses, reflect the strains on high-growth Colorado cities confronted by higher water prices and dwindling supply, older collection and treatment systems hitting capacity, and everyday inflation. Arvada says it is paying 30% more for water treatment chemicals, and triple for piping, amid worldwide price increases.
Castle Pines addresses sewage spills after negotiations with Parker Water failed: State health department warns Douglas County community that it must fix its system or face enforcement
…And when they fail, thousands of gallons of waste can spill into the ground of the surrounding area. The waste has flowed into nearby retention ponds, creeks and drainage ditches.
As former city Mayor Tera Radloff bluntly puts it: “Sh-t rolls downhill.”
Did You Know? Water prices have risen 36% per year over the course of the last 12 years, compared to an overall average inflation rate of 3% per year over the same time span.
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.
