Fountain City Council unanimously approves water utility increases starting March 1

FOUNTAIN, Colo. (KRDO) - Big changes are coming to water bills in Fountain.

On Tuesday night, city council members unanimously approved a rate hike resolution that will put those new charges on bills starting this weekend.

Fountain's utility director, Dan Blankenship, tells KRDO13 that those monthly bills will differ from household to household because the rates will be based on water usage.

He says, "$6.44 more for every 6,000 gallons that they consume," that's how much customers will pay in this first year of water rate hikes in the city of Fountain.

Multiple rate structure options were considered, but the one that the city council has approved works by increasing the usage fee year after year.

By 2029, the water bill for residents using 6,000 gallons on a 3/4 inch meter would be about $35 higher than it was in 2024.

For commercial properties on the same meter using 16,000 gallons a month, bills will be about $81 more per month.

"We have to keep up with inflation," Blankenship said.

That's a big reason for the increases, in addition to existing debt and infrastructure maintenance. The city is also preparing for future growth.

Blakenship adds that rates have not increased in the past 5 years, "We've seen significant increases in inflation over that period of time and we anticipate that there's going to be inflation that will occur going forward."

Again, the increase approved on Tuesday will go into effect this Saturday, March 1st. They'll be effective until the end of this year and the next increase kicks in Jan. 2026.

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