It will cost you more to flush in 2025 if you are a customer of the Upper Thompson Sanitation District.
After discussions over the past several months, the UTSD board voted Tuesday to increase wastewater rates 10.5% in several categories in preparation for a new wastewater reclamation facility. The rate increases were recommended by consultants working with the UTSD.
The new wastewater treatment facility will replace the facility built in the 1970s and is expected to cost $80 million, although bids have not yet been received and the cost could come in higher. The project is still waiting to get permitting approval by certain state offices and further delays could result in increased materials and construction costs.
The UTSD board considered going with an increased rate as low as 8.5% but after deliberations, the board decided to go with the 10.5% rate to pay off loans sooner and save more than $20 million in interest payments over the life of the loan.
The UTSD has entered into loan agreements with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for funding through the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act for up to $96,386,500 and with the Colorado Water Resources and Power Development Authority for $17,457,968 to finance the wastewater reclamation facility.
The new service charges for wastewater collection and treatment services are billed quarterly.
| Classification of Customer | Service Charge |
|---|---|
| Non-Metered Customer | $956.00/year/Single Family Equivalent |
| Metered Customer Base Rate | $956.00 (1 Single Family Equivalent) |
| Metered Customer (Metered Rate) | $16.96 / 1,000 gallons >14.052 gallons/quarter |
| Metered Customer Data Collection Fee (this fee replaces the prior “access fee.) | $12.15 per connection per month |
The charges for biosolids and waste hauling are based on the number of gallons used.
| Service Charge Type | In-District Service Area Customer Charge | Out of District Service Area Customer Charge |
|---|---|---|
| Vault Waste/Portable Toilet Waste | $121.79/1,000 gallons | $182.69/1,000 gallons |
| Septic Waste | $263.23/1,000 gallons | $394.84/1,000 gallons |
| Sewage Waste | $121.79/1,000 gallons | $182.69/1,000 gallons |
| Pit Toilet Waste | $905.24/1,000 | $1357.86/1,000 gallons |
| Biosolids | $263.23/1,000 gallons | $394.84/ 1,000 |
| Testing and Land Application Analysis | Actual Cost-Plus 10% | (Actual Cost Plus 10%) x 1.5 |
Additionally, the UTSD board voted to increase the system development fee to $18,100 effective Jan. 1. 2025. The new fee is being referred to as an “equity buy in approach.” A SDF–often known as a tap fee–is a charge levied on new customers to help pay for the costs of new construction. SDFs are intended to be fair to existing customers who have already paid for some of the system’s costs.
The UTSD is a quasi-municipal corporation and political subdivision of the State of Colorado and is authorized to fix and increase or decrease fees, rates, tolls, penalties or charges for services, programs, or facilities that it provides.
The members of the UTSD board are Chris Eshelman, Board Chairman; Sue Doylen. Vice-Chairman/Secretary; Stan Gengler, Treasurer; Kent Bosch, Assistant Secretary/Treasurer; and Mike Morton, Director.
The next meeting of the UTSD is set for Tuesday, Oct. 15 at 4 p.m. at the UTSD Administrative Office, 2196 Mall Road, Estes Park.
This article omits the driving need for this facility- new discharge standards that make the technology in the existing facility obsolete. Small communities all over the west are facing the same imperative to upgrade or replace sewage treatment facilities- with price tags that stretch customer pocketbooks. In fairness to UTSD, they are making the best of a bad situation. Estes Valley residents face the additional inefficiencies that come from duplicated sewer systems-one for the town and one for the rest of us. There should be considerable long-term cost savings from moving towards a single system. This should be part of the discussion as UTSD faces building a new plant.