Denver water rates increasing for 2024
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Add water to the list of bills going up next year.
Driving the news: Denver's Board of Water Commissioners adopted new rates for 2024 during their Oct. 11 meeting, affecting some 1.5 million people who receive water collected, cleaned and delivered by Denver Water.
Details: Rates will increase by an average of $1.60 to $2.30 each month over the course of the year if customers use the same amount of water in 2024 as they did in 2023, according to a release from Denver Water. This rate is for a typical single-family residential household.
- The fixed monthly charge for homes with a 3/4-inch meter, which is about 95% of all residential customers, is increasing to $18.40 per month in 2024, up 50 cents. That's slightly less than the 70-cent increase from 2022 to this year.
State of play: The increase will pay for upgrades, projects and ongoing repair work to keep its system operating, according to a release from Denver Water.
- These include its lead reduction program and a new treatment plant north of Golden that will clean 75 million gallons of water per day.
Of note: Denver Water in a statement says it doesn't make a profit or get tax dollars, instead reinvesting money from customer bills and fees to maintain its system.
- The agency provides for residents in Denver and surrounding suburbs like Centennial, Lakewood and Wheat Ridge — who pay higher rates for water, per Denver's charter.
What's next: The new rates go into effect Jan. 1, 2024.