Parker Chronicle > News
Water rates could increase
By Chris Michlewicz
Residents served by the Parker Water and Sanitation District could soon see their monthly water bills increase by $15.
The district’s board of directors will decide Dec. 11 whether to approve an increase in water service fees, tap fees, sewer fees and water rates. Most customers within the district would pay an average of $15 more per month, depending on the amount of water used. Officials have not raised water rates since 2005, but are citing increases in operational and maintenance costs, as well as inflation, for the latest proposal.
“We’re trying to manage everything to keep it all in line. Over the past four years, we haven’t had an increase because the board decided not to,” said Frank Jaeger, district manager. “Prior to that, we increased fees every year, and we might look at that again instead of falling behind.”
The four-year hiatus from rate hikes is the reason why the new proposal is so high, he said.
A flat service fee paid by all customers would go from $22.03 to $28.20, while the flat sewer fee would rise from $44.44 to $47.15 per month. Many of the 13,000 customers hooked to the Parker water system fall within the tier 1 pricing level and would see an increase from $1.96 to $2.51 for every 1,000 gallons for up to 20,000 gallons. If approved, the increases would take effect at the beginning of next year.
Deborah Benedict, a Parker Water and Sanitation District customer since moving to Parker in 1997, said she wants to see more details to justify such a drastic rate increase.
“I just want to know why,” she said. “We already pay $70 before we even flush the toilet, and now it’s going to be $85.”
The rate and fee adjustments would help cover $2.5 million in additional costs over last year in the $25 million operating budget for 2009. Officials say the cost of electricity, the district’s primary energy source for pumping wells and operating wastewater plants, has gone up 50 percent since the last rate increase. To compound the issue, chemicals used to treat and reclaim wastewater have risen by 48 percent since 2005.
“We’re falling behind on money to operate,” Jaeger said. “If we had a choice, we would not institute an increase, but we’re having to make that choice to make up for the last four years of poor management style. It forces us to into a larger increase.”
The district has attempted to contain costs by delaying construction on new wells, pump houses and pipelines. The projects were a part of Parker water’s long range capital improvement plan because of steady growth, but the recent slowdown in new home construction has reduced the demand for such endeavors.
“It has bought us some time. If we had gone with the original plan, we would have had to increase costs even more,” Jaeger said.
A fee hike will likely increase the already high number of delinquent water bill payments; the district shut off water service to 100 customers so far this month.
“Everybody who moves to Parker is totally unaware of the situation. It’s always a huge surprise when they get that first bill,” Benedict said. “One of my neighbors was a classic case. She said ‘this has got to be wrong.’”
Parker Water and Sanitation District costs are comparable to surrounding communities, and even if the increase passes, it will still be lower than monthly rates for the Stonegate Village Metro District, Cottonwood Water and Sewer District and the Town of Castle Rock.
Jaeger pointed out that tap fees, which are usually paid by developers to hook new homes and businesses into the Parker water system, will go up if the proposal is approved. Sewer tap fees would increase by $2,000, and water tap fees would rise by $3,000, he said. However, increased costs to developers often are passed down to new homeowners.
Additional revenue from tap fee increases would pay for the development of more wells and an expansion of wastewater plants. The funds would also be used to pay off Parker’s portion of the debt for the construction of Rueter-Hess Reservoir, a 70,000-acre-foot body of water being built south of Parker. Proposed increases in water rates and service fees would not be used to pay for the project.
Parker water promotes a conservation program to help customers reduce water consumption, and, in turn, decrease monthly bills. The district distributes free home water audit kits and provides customers with water-restricting faucet aerators, low-flow shower heads and rain gauges to determine more efficient use of landscape irrigation water.
Benedict said a water bill of $85 or higher is enough to make her more diligent about conserving water wherever she can. But she suggested that the Parker area has experienced more growth than the water supply can sustain.
“It’s basically a desert, and now we have all of these lawns,” she said. “We continue to build, and I think it’s best to take a hard look at that.”
The district board “welcomes the public to everything we do,” but wants homeowners to understand that rate increases are needed, Jaeger said.
“I understand these are tough economic times. It’s hard right now, but we are a utility, and I can’t take money from one customer to subsidize another,” he said.
Monthly water bills could go up
The district’s board of directors will decide Dec. 11 whether to approve an increase in water service fees, tap fees, sewer fees and water rates. Most customers within the district would pay an average of $15 more per month, depending on the amount of water used. Officials have not raised water rates since 2005, but are citing increases in operational and maintenance costs, as well as inflation, for the latest proposal.
“We’re trying to manage everything to keep it all in line. Over the past four years, we haven’t had an increase because the board decided not to,” said Frank Jaeger, district manager. “Prior to that, we increased fees every year, and we might look at that again instead of falling behind.”
The four-year hiatus from rate hikes is the reason why the new proposal is so high, he said.
A flat service fee paid by all customers would go from $22.03 to $28.20, while the flat sewer fee would rise from $44.44 to $47.15 per month. Many of the 13,000 customers hooked to the Parker water system fall within the tier 1 pricing level and would see an increase from $1.96 to $2.51 for every 1,000 gallons for up to 20,000 gallons. If approved, the increases would take effect at the beginning of next year.
Deborah Benedict, a Parker Water and Sanitation District customer since moving to Parker in 1997, said she wants to see more details to justify such a drastic rate increase.
“I just want to know why,” she said. “We already pay $70 before we even flush the toilet, and now it’s going to be $85.”
The rate and fee adjustments would help cover $2.5 million in additional costs over last year in the $25 million operating budget for 2009. Officials say the cost of electricity, the district’s primary energy source for pumping wells and operating wastewater plants, has gone up 50 percent since the last rate increase. To compound the issue, chemicals used to treat and reclaim wastewater have risen by 48 percent since 2005.
“We’re falling behind on money to operate,” Jaeger said. “If we had a choice, we would not institute an increase, but we’re having to make that choice to make up for the last four years of poor management style. It forces us to into a larger increase.”
The district has attempted to contain costs by delaying construction on new wells, pump houses and pipelines. The projects were a part of Parker water’s long range capital improvement plan because of steady growth, but the recent slowdown in new home construction has reduced the demand for such endeavors.
“It has bought us some time. If we had gone with the original plan, we would have had to increase costs even more,” Jaeger said.
A fee hike will likely increase the already high number of delinquent water bill payments; the district shut off water service to 100 customers so far this month.
“Everybody who moves to Parker is totally unaware of the situation. It’s always a huge surprise when they get that first bill,” Benedict said. “One of my neighbors was a classic case. She said ‘this has got to be wrong.’”
Parker Water and Sanitation District costs are comparable to surrounding communities, and even if the increase passes, it will still be lower than monthly rates for the Stonegate Village Metro District, Cottonwood Water and Sewer District and the Town of Castle Rock.
Jaeger pointed out that tap fees, which are usually paid by developers to hook new homes and businesses into the Parker water system, will go up if the proposal is approved. Sewer tap fees would increase by $2,000, and water tap fees would rise by $3,000, he said. However, increased costs to developers often are passed down to new homeowners.
Additional revenue from tap fee increases would pay for the development of more wells and an expansion of wastewater plants. The funds would also be used to pay off Parker’s portion of the debt for the construction of Rueter-Hess Reservoir, a 70,000-acre-foot body of water being built south of Parker. Proposed increases in water rates and service fees would not be used to pay for the project.
Parker water promotes a conservation program to help customers reduce water consumption, and, in turn, decrease monthly bills. The district distributes free home water audit kits and provides customers with water-restricting faucet aerators, low-flow shower heads and rain gauges to determine more efficient use of landscape irrigation water.
Benedict said a water bill of $85 or higher is enough to make her more diligent about conserving water wherever she can. But she suggested that the Parker area has experienced more growth than the water supply can sustain.
“It’s basically a desert, and now we have all of these lawns,” she said. “We continue to build, and I think it’s best to take a hard look at that.”
The district board “welcomes the public to everything we do,” but wants homeowners to understand that rate increases are needed, Jaeger said.
“I understand these are tough economic times. It’s hard right now, but we are a utility, and I can’t take money from one customer to subsidize another,” he said.
Monthly water bills could go up
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