Rates for Denver Water residential, commercial and industrial users will rise in 2009 to raise $18.5 million in additional revenue for operating and capital projects.
The Denver Water Board of Commissioners approved the rate package Wednesday that will increase the average annual residential water bill for city households by 7.5 percent to $273.
Denver Water’s suburban residential customers will see an increase of $33.12 a year to $482 on average.
Denver Water serves 1.3 million people in Denver and the surrounding suburbs.
Commercial, industrial and governmental customers, who pay seasonal water rates, will see about a 20 percent increase in their summer rate.
The rate for these customers within the city will go from $2.47 per thousand gallons to $2.96 per thousand gallons in the summer.
The winter rate will drop to $1.48 per thousand gallons from $2.06.
The total rate revenues for 2009 are projected to be $224.5 million.
Even with the rate hike, Denver Water is forecasting a $49 million revenue shortfall, said John Wright, manager of rate administration.
Cash and bond proceeds will be used to balance the budget, Wright said.
“The two things that are the biggest cost drivers in 2009 are operating and maintenance expenditures . . . and capital improvements,” Wright said.
Operating and maintenance costs are going to rise $25 million, and capital costs will be up $19.6 million.
Among the major maintenance projects is the removal of 1.1 million cubic yards of sediment that has clogged the Strontia Springs Reservoir since the 2002 Hayman fires.
The capital improvement projects include replacing aging sections of the 2,650-mile distribution system and expanding the Gross Reservoir, which is projected to be a $140 million project.
This marks the eighth consecutive year that Denver Water has raised rates.
“Rates are more affected by rising operating costs than by changes in demand,” Wright said. “In the long run, conservation is a less-expensive supply option than finding more water and building new storage facilities.”
Mark Jaffe: 303-954-1912 or mjaffe@denverpost.com
