DENVER — Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2022 — The Denver Board of Water Commissioners adopted rate changes to help pay for important upgrades, projects and ongoing maintenance and repair to keep its system operating efficiently.

The new rates take effect Jan. 1, 2023, and for typical single-family residential customers who receive a bill from Denver Water, if they use the same amount of water in 2023 as they did in 2022, the new rates will increase their monthly bill by an average of $1 to $4 over the course of the year, depending on where they live.

“Denver Water’s mission is to ensure that we deliver safe, clean water to the people who rely on us every day,” said CEO/Manager Jim Lochhead. “Today, 1.5 million people across the Denver metro area benefit from those who built the Denver Water system we know today. Now, it’s our responsibility to not only care for the system they built, but to prepare it to meet the challenges that lie across the next 100 years — all while keeping rates as low as good service will allow.”

To ensure that the system continues to reliably deliver safe, clean and affordable water to its customers, Denver Water expects to invest $2.3 billion over the next 10 years in projects that will maintain, repair, protect and upgrade the system and make it more resilient and flexible in the future. At the same time, the utility also has been subject to the same economic tides, such as inflation and supply chain issues, that have affected its costs.

More details on the rate increase can be found at these links:

• Water rates to rise slightly in 2023 — 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 $2.3 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, the new Northwater Treatment Plant under construction north of Golden and the new water quality laboratory that will be located 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 system’s flexibility and resiliency.
• Denver Water also is working through final approvals to accept federal funding in support of the Lead Reduction Program, allowing the utility to replace an additional number of lead service lines (at no direct cost to the customer) above the 4,500 currently slated for replacement in 2023. This additional funding will help speed up the replacement program while keeping rates as low as possible for customers.