Costs for Water Going Up!

By: Jon Dougal
Date: October 29, 2009

Ednote: The cost of water keeps going up, municipalities keep fighting with rate payors about rate hikes, and infrastructure improvements to meet future demands. We also have the specter of municipalities placing ownership on rainwater. The concept being when a ratepayer collects rainwater that would normally be filtered into the ground water and become a part of the commons, he/they should pay for the amount collected.

The rainwater literally belongs to the commons.

With water shortages eminent worldwide, one method of incenting water conservation is to attack through ratepayers wallets. We know that people pay attention when discretionary income is threatened.

Denver's Board of Water Commissioners has approved rate increases that will raise the typical Denver residential customer's water bill by about $40 per year.

The new rates will take effect Feb. 3, 2010.

Typical suburban customers of Denver Water would see an increase of about $51 per year, which isn’t much, but that could change drastically as shortages become more intense. Los Angeles and many other water districts are using the same reasoning.

In California, fully 50% of all electricity produced is used to move water. That high percentage because of having the water in the northern part of the state and the major demand in the southern part fully 700 miles away.

The rate hikes will help fund a $1.3 billion 10-year plan for infrastructure upgrades and expansion to make sure the utility can meet future demand.

In the next decade, Denver Water plans to expand its recycled water system, enlarge one of its reservoirs, finish developing gravel pits that store reusable water, and explore ways to work with other water providers to bring more supplies to its system.

Denver Water serves about 1.3 million people.