Dear Editor,

The Nederland Board of Trustees approved the 2022 budget and fee schedule on December 7, but they’ve been talking about utility needs and rates since at least February. In fact, the town first approved conducting a rate study in June 2019, and received grant funding in March 2020 to complete the rate study and update their Master Infrastructure Plan.

Kudos to the Board and staff for taking a thoughtful and professional approach to maintaining our water and sewer system and setting rates. While watching some of the meetings, it was clear to me that everyone is concerned about the cost of water and sewer in Nederland and worked hard to find the best solution that balances cost with providing safe and reliable service.

What’s new for 2022? Slight increases to water and sewer rates and a tiered rate structure for residential water users. To reward/encourage conservation, this tiered rate structure will charge a higher rate for every 1,000 gallons of water you use over 3,000 gallons in a billing period, and an even higher rate for every 1,000 gallons you use over 14,000 gallons in a billing period. Nederland is also going to increase the cost for new buildings / developers to connect to the town’s water / sewer systems (PIF Fee).

Why are rates increasing? To fund select (but not all) capital improvement projects identified by the Town’s Master Infrastructure Plan, and to cover personnel and operating expense inflation. Rates will continue to increase slightly each year for the next several years.

Why are Nederland’s water and sewer rates higher than other communities? There are many factors involved, but significant factors include: (1) Nederland water customers don’t use as much water as other communities, so less revenue comes in. (2) Nederland has less customers per unit of infrastructure than other communities, and water/sewer systems have a lot of fixed costs, so Nederland’s cost per customer is higher.

Struggling to pay your bill? The town has compiled a list of programs available to assist with utility bills:

Boulder County Area Agency on Aging

Website: https://www.bouldercounty.org/departments/community-services/areaagency aging/

Email: csinclair@bouldercounty.org

Phone: 720-616-9109

Canyon Cares

Website: https://canyoncares.org/

Email: aid@canyoncares.org

Phone: 720-515-1129

Emergency Family Assistance Association

Website: https://www.efaa.org/

Email: kristi@efaa.org or kelly@efaa.org

Phone: 720-422-7813

Emergency Rental Assistance Program

Website: https://www.bouldercounty.org/departments/housing-and-human-services/emergency-rental-assistance/

Email: HousingHelpline@bouldercounty.org

Phone: 303-441-1206

Additional information:

February 16, Master Infrastructure Plan Presentation: https://nederlandco.civicweb.net/.../5.2%20Master...

March 2, Water Rate Study Presentation: https://nederlandco.civicweb.net/.../7.1%20Water%20and...

July 20, Water Rate Study Presentation: https://nederlandco.civicweb.net/.../ Water%20and%20Sewer...

September 21, Rate Study Report: https:// nederlandco.civicweb.net/.../6.1%20 Water%20and...

October 4, The Mountain-Ear article: https://www.themtnear.com/.../rate-studyapproved in.../

December 7, Agenda with proposed budget, fees, and utility assistance programs: https://nederlandco.civicweb.net/document/32190...

December 7, meeting recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gckfHdtqtpo

Andrew Bliss

Nederland