Water Resources Advisory Board backs 2026 CIP, recommends 8% water, 6% wastewater, 5% stormwater rate increases

The Water Resources Advisory Board on July 21 recommended that Boulder City Council approve the 2026 capital improvement program for the city’s water, wastewater and stormwater/flood utilities and endorsed proposed 2026 rate increases of 8% for the water utility, 6% for the wastewater utility and 5% for the stormwater and flood-management utility.

The recommendation matters because the CIP and associated rate adjustments fund large rehabilitation and supply projects the utilities staff says are necessary to maintain system reliability and position the city for planned bonding in 2028–29.

City utilities Director Joe Tediichi opened the discussion by describing the CIP review schedule and asking the board to make a recommendation to council on the 2026 CIP and associated utility rates. Principal financial analyst Steph Klingemann and Utilities Engineering Manager Chris Douglas summarized adjustments since June: the board was shown a six-year window for context, but asked to weigh in on the single-year 2026 recommendation.

Klingemann described staff’s recommended rates and near-term financial strategy: an 8% increase in the water fund for 2026, a 6% wastewater increase and a 5% increase for stormwater/flood management. She also noted projected follow-up rate increases in 2027–28 (including additional 8% increases in some funds in later years) and said staff budgeted $110,000 for a comprehensive utilities cost-of-service and rate study to begin a request-for-proposals process later this year. Staff forecasted the study would encompass user fees and plant-investment fees and include a public-outreach component.

Board members asked for detail on bonding and project timing. Klingemann and Douglas said staff moved one large project (identified in the presentation as the Patasso/Picasso project) up one year to better align with planned debt issuance. Staff also reported a reduction in forecasted bonding need for the wastewater fund in 2029 from $69,000,000 to $54,000,000 after finding additional cash-flow capacity. Specific large projects cited in staff materials included approximately $26,000,000 in transmission-system work and a $35,000,000 Barker Dam outlet-works project in the water fund; Douglas characterized the Barker work as rehabilitation of century-old outlet works to increase operational flexibility.

On a related point, staff corrected a public-comment figure that had characterized the South Boulder Creek flood project as a $94,000,000 effort: Tediichi said the project is in staff materials as a roughly $66,000,000 project and that bonding for the South Boulder Creek work is on hold while litigation is pending.

Board discussion also addressed customer affordability. Klingemann and staff reiterated the board’s prior direction to maintain reserve metrics such as days cash on hand and debt service coverage; staff noted that the average monthly bill impact in the materials for the recommended 2026 rates was roughly $9 per month for the average residential account. Staff and board members discussed the city’s existing bill-assistance program as part of the affordability safety net.

After public comment and deliberation, the board voted on two staff-drafted motions. The first motion recommended approval of a set of named water/wastewater projects in the 2026–31 CIP (motion text was read into the record). The second motion recommended that city council adopt the 2026 CIP for the remaining projects across the water, wastewater and stormwater/flood utilities and support the proposed 2026 rate adjustments of 8% (water), 6% (wastewater) and 5% (stormwater/flood). Both motions were adopted by voice vote (ayes recorded). The motions as read and adopted are reflected in the actions section below.

What happens next: staff said they would bring a final package and, after any public hearing required by council, ask council for action on the CIP and rate ordinances. Board members will see the results of the planned rate study later this year and discussion of implementation options in 2026 as staff refines multi-year forecasts.