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Boulder utilities review 2025: projects, maintenance milestones and 2026 priorities
Summary
Utilities staff presented a 2025 year-in-review highlighting maintenance work, capital projects including the Barker pipeline rehabilitation and Albion Dam rehabilitation, and several regulatory updates; staff also previewed a multi-year rate study and customer-assistance improvements for 2026.
Utilities Director Joe Tadayuchi and staff presented the Boulder Utilities 2025 year-in-review at the board's Jan. 26 meeting, outlining operations, capital projects and regulatory developments that shaped the year and will guide 2026 priorities.
The presentation, led by drinking-water staff, said the utilities function represents a little over 20% of the city budget and that recent rate adjustments average about $9.18 per month for the typical single-unit residential customer. "We've been able to fill the positions that we absolutely need to," Director Joe Tadayuchi said, characterizing staffing as sufficient despite some hiring constraints. Staff noted that water demand in 2025 exceeded a 30,000,000 gallons-per-day high-demand threshold nine times.
The memo and slides described routine maintenance and inspections (nearly 2,000 valves exercised and about 4,500 fire hydrants inspected), wastewater upgrades completed to address future phosphorus requirements, and an ongoing sanitary sewer rehabilitation program that identified roughly 1,300,000 feet of lines for future work. The utilities maintenance team also reported the Safe and Managed Public Spaces program engaged in more than 1,000 cleanups and removed 82 tons of trash citywide.
On capital projects, staff said the Barker gravity-line rehabilitation is about 80% complete and that the city expects to finish the long-running Albion Dam rehabilitation in 2026. Staff also described a fuels-reduction project in Boulder Canyon, funded in part by a state grant, intended to protect critical drinking-water infrastructure from wildfire. "This project is designed to protect critical drinking water infrastructure from wildfire and increase first responder access," staff said.
Staff reviewed regulatory trends that may affect operations: participation in CDPHE rulemaking on dredge-and-fill (Regulation 87), proposed changes to the state's impaired-waters list (Regulation 93) that could affect Boulder Creek and Boulder Reservoir, and upcoming expansions to lead-and-copper rules and PFAS monitoring. Staff said they expect Regulation 93 rulemaking hearings in February and that initial PFAS monitoring requirements start in 2027.
Staff closed by summarizing 2026 highlights: a multi-year utilities rate study (NewGen Strategies and Solutions was named as consultant), customer-assistance enhancements, pipeline replacement work from Polar Tank to Broadway beginning in early 2026, and Southern Boulder Creek flood-mitigation work moving into permitting and construction phases.
The board responded with questions about maintenance metrics, budget treatment of excess revenues and how assistance and rebate programs will be structured; staff said excess revenues go into the utility fund balance and that programmatic assistance decisions will be policy-level choices going forward.
The board thanked staff for the overview and moved on to the next agenda item.
