Your Denver Water bill goes up in January. Here's what changes, and what the city has said about the drought

Denver Water customers will pay more starting Jan. 1. The Denver Board of Water Commissioners approved 2027 rates on Oct. 28, after a summer of drought restrictions and a ban on lawn watering that began Oct. 1, CBS Colorado and the Denver Gazette reported.

Why it matters: almost every household and business in Denver pays a Denver Water bill, and the new rates are built to charge the heaviest outdoor water users the most.

What changes

• The average bill. For the average single-family home in Denver, the monthly bill rises about 5.7%, to $60.21, The Colorado Sun reported. Suburban customers served by Denver Water would see about 7.9%, to an average of $61.57. Estimates of the monthly increase range from about $3.25 to $4.50 depending on location, use and season, according to 9News and CBS.
• Indoor use costs less, outdoor costs more. The price of the first tier, set around typical essential indoor use, goes down. The top 5% of city users, with heavy outdoor watering, will pay about $98 more over the year, according to the Sun.
• Drought surcharges. The board also set extra charges that would apply next spring if two-day-a-week watering limits return, according to CBS.
• What the money pays for. The Sun reported the rates also fund major projects such as the Gross Reservoir expansion and replacing lead service lines in older neighborhoods.

Fines and a lawn patrol

Since Oct. 1, any lawn watering can bring an immediate fine: $500 for a first residential violation and $1,000 after that, with possible shutoff, Westword reported. A Denver Water spokesperson told the Sun the utility issued 448 fines totaling $265,000 from Oct. 1 through Oct. 18. The utility told Westword that fine money goes back into its operations and that the goal is compliance, not revenue.

For next summer, staff proposed hiring 15 temporary enforcement workers at $25 an hour, who could make 2,500 to 3,500 stops or violations a month, according to the Sun.

The cutbacks are showing up. By Sept. 30, demand was down 9% from the five-year average, and the Oct. 1 shutoff pushed savings to 11%, the Sun reported. Reservoirs were at 67% of capacity in September, compared with a median of 91%, Westword reported.

What our records add

Denver Water is run by its own board, whose five commissioners are appointed by the mayor, not by the City Council, so the Council does not vote on these rates. But the city is the utility's largest customer, and the drought has come up at Council repeatedly.

Parks says it met the target. At the Sept. 24 budget hearing, Parks and Recreation Executive Director Jolon Clark told members that Parks is Denver Water's number-one customer, with close to 1,200 accounts, and that it had met Denver Water's goal of cutting use 20% every month of the summer (video at 5:08). He credited a central sprinkler control system that shuts off watering when it rains and lets staff turn off a broken head remotely, plus turning unused turf into lower-water landscaping (video at 5:50). He also said drought and the emerald ash borer are both threats to the tree canopy (video at 6:51).

The Council heard about the fall cutoff in August. At the South Platte River Committee on Aug. 26, Council member Chris Hinds noted the water board had voted to restrict lawn watering after Sept. 30 because of the drought (video at 45:06).

Drought came up in the Xcel debate. On July 20, Council member Darrell Watson said Xcel had made a commitment to Denver Water on an agreement that lets the utility protect and store water in drought years (video at 1:08:07). That franchise is now Question 2K on the Nov. 3 ballot.

What's next

• Jan. 1, 2027: new rates take effect.
• Through winter: the lawn-watering ban stays in place until Denver Water lifts it. The utility told Westword it would take a snowpack more than 150% of normal to fully refill reservoirs.
• Spring 2027: watch for decisions on summer watering rules and the proposed lawn patrol.

Denver Water's rate details are on its website.