Plan to Pay

Flexible financial plan

Plan to payCastle Rock Water has developed a responsible, flexible financial plan to support our long-term water goal. Town Council approved the plan which details how to fairly spread the costs between existing customers and future customers, how to keep rates and fees as affordable as possible, and how to maintain a financially sustainable water system.

Investments

To date, Castle Rock Water has invested approximately $234 million into the long-term water plan. An additional investment of an estimated $523 million will be required over the next 20 to 30 years. However, every project so far has been completed under budget. Additionally, rates and fees have been maintained below the levels set in the financial plan, which is good news for our customers.

In order to secure renewable water, the plan calls for the Water Resources fee to increase slowly at around 3.5% per year. The plan is designed to ensure fairness between existing customers and future customers. For existing residents, it is important to understand the planned future growth of the community will help to keep rates and fees for renewable water lower. We need the systems to deliver renewable water with or without the growth. Having more people move to the area, as planned, will help to spread out the costs of these systems among more residents.

Increasing finances

Castle Rock Water is working hard to continue to strategically allocate available funds to these efforts. However, market changes indicate that larger investments, currently as much as 13% more than what was estimated in our most recent financial plan, may be required. The Town is working to mitigate the impacts of those possible increases through our regional partnerships, conservation and efficiency improvements, proactive planning, and a host of other strategies.

Partnerships

Regional partnerships are key to our financial strategy. Castle Rock is not the only community that must secure a renewable water supply. Other South Metro communities are also currently dependent on non-renewable Denver Basin groundwater. These communities are all working to ensure their long-term water futures.

  • Centennial Water and Sanitation District (Highlands Ranch)
  • Inverness Water and Sanitation District
  • Parker Water and Sanitation District
  • Pinery Water and Sanitation District
  • Stonegate Water and Sanitation District
  • East Cherry Creek Valley Water and Sanitation District
  • Dominion Water and Sanitation District
  • Cottonwood Water and Sanitation District
  • Denver Water
  • Aurora Water

Partnerships, like these, are providing opportunities to share the costs of the renewable water treatment, infrastructure and delivery systems. We have partnered with other South Metro providers on most of our storage and imported water supply projects. These types of partnerships will save our residents millions of dollars and will continue to be a focus of our long-term financial strategy.