Estes Park raises water rates 15% a year for three years

The Estes Park Town Board approved water-rate increases of 15% a year for 2027, 2028 and 2029 across all rate classes, the first increase since 2022.

The town last increased water rates in 2022. Estes Park has nine water storage tanks, which an assessment found to be in poor to fair condition.

The town also has two aging water treatment plants, and Glacier Creek was built and designed in the early ’70s, when regulatory requirements were different from today’s. The town estimates that all improvements identified in its Water Master Plan will cost $110 to $150 million in 2026 dollars.

The town’s first storage priority is to replace the Thunder Mountain tank, followed by planning and design for a new water treatment plant. Staff said the treatment system needs to meet current regulatory requirements, provide redundancy and allow multiple sources of water to serve a single treatment plant.

Under the high-end master-plan implementation scenario, the consultant projected utility revenue requirements through 2035 at about 2.5 times today’s level. The town’s 2026 budget includes about $8.2 million in water-utility revenue. The consultant described Estes Park as a utility without significant growth or many new customer accounts added each year, leaving current customers’ rate revenue as the main focus of the rate model.

Trustee Chris Eshelman proposed increasing water rates by 18% annually for three years instead of the proposed 15%.

Using a 4,500-gallon assumption, he estimated that 18% rather than 15% would add $1.91 to an urban bill and $2.81 to a rural bill by the end of 2027, and $7.92 to an urban bill and $11.48 to a rural bill by the end of 2029. Raising rates sooner could build reserves and accelerate projects, Eshelman argued, and a larger increase on a smaller base could allow increases to be scaled down later. "I'm perplexed that we haven't raised rates for four years," he said.

A motion to change the annual increase from 15% to 18% failed.

Mayor Pro Tem Kirby Hazelton said he favored staying at 15% because the board had discussed 15% throughout its public-engagement process, he was concerned about how changing it would be perceived and he favored the ability to adjust the rates later. "I hope that in 3 years we're not having the conversation of, wish we had done 18," Hazelton said. Mayor Gary Hall said the board could theoretically adjust rates the following year and again the year after if needed.

Trustee Bill Brown estimated that raising rates about 5% a year for the previous three years and continuing increases of about 5% for the next three would leave the town in about the same position after three years as annual 15% increases.

He called the four-year period without a water-rate increase a mistake by prior boards and said he had served on some of those boards. Brown said he leaned toward the consultant’s 15% recommendation, though he would not necessarily oppose 18%, and supported raising rates to protect the town’s water infrastructure and future supply.

"We cannot afford a catastrophic failure of our water system," he said.

Trustee Mark Igel said feedback he receives is that a rate increase would be unwelcome, uncomfortable and difficult to afford, but he considers an increase necessary to continue water service and sees no alternative. "I don't see an alternative path to continue to provide water service to the community," Igel said.

The consultant said an 18% annual increase could work, but that early increases compound and could generate more cash than needed if project costs come in lower than expected. The consultant said he did not consider the difference between 15% and 18% a major risk given the likely scale of capital work.

Staff said the most common public questions concerned drought, whether the town had enough water and whether mandatory restrictions might be imposed.

Staff said the town has access to a diverse portfolio of water rights and is comfortable with its supply, but urged continued conservation and cautioned against complacency. A resident said the mountains were drying, described climate change as a continuing threat and urged caution as the town considered its water plans. "We are living under a very constant threat of climate change," the resident said.

The ordinance would set rates for 2027, 2028 and 2029, but a future board would retain the power to revise it and would not be bound to keep those rates unchanged, the town attorney said.

Staff said the consultant’s estimates assumed no grants, while the town had been successful in obtaining grants and would pursue alternative grant funding.

Staff said the town would use 2027 to refine project costs and develop a funding plan, with the second phase of the rate study expected in summer ’27 and further cost and grant information expected by the end of ’27. The consultant said the town would reassess its plans beyond the initial three-year rate period, including for 2030 and 2032, as cost, funding and debt information improves.