Boulder utility bills could rise $9 a month in 2027 under proposed rate increases

Boulder is proposing higher water, wastewater and stormwater rates for 2027 to help pay for infrastructure repairs, treatment plant upgrades and flood projects. For the average single-family home, the combined increases would add about $9 to the monthly utility bill.

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Water rates would rise 5%, while wastewater and stormwater rates would each rise 7%. The proposal is part of the city’s 2027 budget deliberations, which also include a separate $6.3 million shortfall. Utility bills are the largest source of revenue for the three separate funds that pay for those services.

The proposed increases are smaller than staff anticipated a year ago, when they projected that water and wastewater rates would have to rise 8% in 2027. Customers have already seen increases this year: Water rates rose 8%, wastewater rates 6% and stormwater rates 5%. Further increases are planned for 2028 and 2029.

The city has also begun designing a bill assistance program for water customers who struggle to pay. This year, staff have explored how such a program could work in Boulder and drafted a charter for future consideration by the Water Resources Advisory Board. The program is not yet in place.

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Much of the proposed spending would go toward maintaining or replacing infrastructure nearing the end of its useful life. Priority projects include repairs to the century-old Barker Gravity Pipeline and aging dams that deliver water to the city’s treatment plants. The city also plans improvements at the Betasso Water Treatment Plant and replacement of chemical storage tanks at the Betasso and 63rd Street treatment facilities.

Wastewater spending would include the second phase of a trunk sewer replacement project along Goose Creek. Stormwater projects would include flood mitigation work along Gregory Canyon Creek from Arapahoe to Pennsylvania avenues, as well as the South Boulder Creek Flood Mitigation Project at CU South.

The Water Resources Advisory Board voted Sept. 21 to recommend the proposed utility budget. Members expressed concern about rising rates, though the smaller increases and the city’s work on bill assistance eased some concerns.

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