The water rates pay for the cost of pumping and moving raw water to the water treatment plants. At the plants, the raw water is treated using energy, chemicals, filtration, and certified operators to produce safe drinking water. From the plants, it is protected using chlorine to make it safely through the distribution pipes to the faucets of the community.
This is the fee for safe, reliable removal and treatment of the wastewater that flows down your sinks, bathtubs, and toilets and away from your homes. It is water that must be treated to a level it can be safely put back into the environment.
Even if you periodically use no water, many of the costs of providing water service are still incurred to keep the water system maintained and available for customers. These fixed costs are paid from the base rate. These expenses are for ongoing energy needs, testing, permitting, and system maintenance. They must be operated by certified professionals to meet standards established by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
Even if you never used any water which became wastewater, there are many costs of proving wastewater services which are still incurred. Operational expenses for collecting and treating wastewater to a level that is safe to put back into the environment includes the costs for maintaining all of the infrastructure and operating the wastewater plants. These plants demand large amounts of electricity, chemicals, and testing. They must be operated by certified professionals to meet standards established by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
Technically, the residents of Perry Park own all of the community’s water and sewer infrastructure. The District does not operate for a profit and is governed by a board comprised of Perry Park residents that pay the same rates. In order to provide you with quality water and have the wastewater safely removed, the infrastructure and facilities must be maintained, repaired and replaced so that the water is kept safe and the wastewater is removed both today and into the future.
There are many factors to consider which impact water service costs per customer. This includes economies-of-scale and costs of the raw water. For example, Denver Water has about two-million customers, giving them more people who share in the expense of infrastructure, treatment, the cost of water, storage and delivery. Here in Perry Park, we have less than 2,000 residences and we provide both water and wastewater services.
These fees help pay for necessary infrastructure upgrades, replacement, and maintenance. For example we have completed, 1) an update to Sageport Water Treatment Plant, increasing water and treatment capacity, and additionally, replaced an aged limited generator to insure water availability in the event of a sustained power outage, 2) the Country Club Drive water line loop was added improving fire protection and water quality, 3) the Sageport Wastewater Treatment headworks were improved insuring Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment compliance, and 4) improvements to the Bannock lift station to replace aging infrastructure and reduce the possibility of an overflow.
Each year, the District’s management develops a proposed budget for the following year. That proposed budget is posted to the District’s website. Public hearings are always conducted prior to the District’s Board of Director’s approval of the budget. View the financials.