From The Pagosa Springs Sun (Simone Mounsamy):
At a public hearing in Septem- ber of 2018, the Pagosa Area Water and Sanitation District (PAWSD) Board of Directors approved changes to the rates for water ser-vice customers.
According to information provided by PAWSD, the following changes will be implemented in 2021.
Water charges
Monthly service charges (per equivalent unit) are set to increase from $26.40 to $27.98.
Volume charges (rates per 1,000gallons) are as follows:
For 2,001 to 8,000 gallons of usage, the charge will increase from $4.74 to $5.02. For 8,001 to 20,000 gallons of usage, the charge will increase from $9.48 to $10.05. For over 20,001 gallons of us- age, the charge will increase from $11.90 to $12.61. Water fill station charges per 1,000 gallons are slated to increase from $10.23 to $10.84. The water availability of service charge will remain at $14.30. The wastewater availability of service charge will remain at $12.50. Changes to the rates for water service customers will increase the volume rate charges by 6 percent annually through 2023.
PAWSD Manager Justin Ramsey explained that these volume rate charge increases began in 2019 and were based on a rate study done in 2018.
These increases will equate to a 33.74 percent cumulative increase over the five-year period.
The capital investment fees for both water and wastewater will increase by 3 percent per year.
Wastewater charges
The changes to wastewater service charges include a 2.5 percent annual rate increase beginning in 2024 and ending in 2027.
These increases will equate to a 10.38 percent cumulative increase over the four-year period.
