Denver Water says rate hike necessary

DENVER - The head of Denver Water says a rate hike next year is necessary to fix some of its systems that were built right after World War II.

The hike would set the average residential Denver customer back an additional $40 per year.

A customer who lived in the suburbs would pay roughly $51 more per year.

The hike was approved by the full water board to go into effect in February.

The money will pay for more than $1 billion in infrastructure over the next decade.

"An average person in Denver now pays around $350 a year for water. That's less than their cable bill. That's far less than their energy bill with Xcel. I don't want to minimize the impact on people but if you keep your usage reasonable, you're not going to pay a lot for water," Chips Barry, Denver Water Manager said.

Barry says Denver Water rates are in the bottom quarter of cities nationwide.

The system's nearly 3,000 miles of pipes are set to be upgraded.

If stretched out, those pipes would run from New York to Los Angeles.