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Week of October 27, 2022
JEFFERSON COUNTY, COLORADO
A publication of
INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 12 | LIFE: PAGE 14 | CALENDAR: PAGE 17 | SPORTS: PAGE 24
VOLUME 18 | ISSUE 19
Arvadans hit with 12.3% water rate hike I-70 at Floyd
Hill project gets rolling
CDOT broke ground on its project to improve and expand a problem area of I-70 BY OLIVIA JEWELL LOVE OLOVE@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Decades-old treatment plants At the heart of Arvada’s decision to invest in aging infrastructure are two water treatment plants: the Ralston Water Treatment Plant, built in the 1960s; and the Arvada Water Treatment Plant, built in the 1980s. The RWTP is rated at 36 million gallons per day, while the AWTP is rated at 16 million gallons per day. 75% of Arvada’s raw water comes from Denver Water, while the remainder is provided by Clear Creek. Two recent water line breaks and
Officials broke ground Oct. 19 on the I-70 Floyd Hill improvement project, a much anticipated series of improvements to problem areas of I-70. The project, which is now fully funded, will cost $700 million. The features will include a third travel lane on westbound I-70 from the top of Floyd Hill to the Mountain Express Lane, westbound and eastbound curve flattening and safety improvements, more than three miles of Greenway trail improvements, a new frontage road between Central City Parkway and US 6 interchanges, wildlife crossings and fencing, an eastbound I-70 climbing lane for heavy commercial or slow-moving vehicles from the bottom of Floyd Hill to the Homestead exit and more, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation. Some of the first improvements will be the US 40 and Floyd Hill Roundabouts, with construction slated for fall 2022 to fall 2023, the I-70 and Genesee Wildlife crossing, with construction scheduled for fall 2022 to early 2024, US 40
SEE WATER RATES, P2
SEE PROJECT, P4
Civil Engineer Bethany Yaffe overlooks water treatment pools.
City Council “reluctantly, but necessarily,” passes rate increase to fund aging infrastructure BY RYLEE DUNN RDUNN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
After multiple water treatment plant mishaps over the past year, Arvada’s City Council unanimously approved a 12.3% water rate increase to fund improvements for the city’s aging infrastructure on Oct. 17. The rate hike will increase singlefamily water bills by roughly $19 per
PHOTOS BY RYLEE DUNN
bi-monthly billing cycle on average for single-family homes. The increase will see water and wastewater usage rates increase by an average of $13 per bi-monthly billing cycle for single-family homes. It also includes a $4 bimonthly water service fee increase and a $2 bi-monthly wastewater service fee increase. Primary cost drivers of the rate hike are a 15% price hike for raw water from Denver Water, the recommended issuance of a $50 million bond later this year that will fund infrastructure upgrades and an expected overall operation cost increase of $4.2 million in 2023. Over the past five years, the average in-city water rate has increased by about 3.55% annually, Gillis said.
PUMKIN SPICE AND EVERYTHINNG NICE P14
The bi-monthly service fee was last adjusted in 2022 for the first time since 2009.
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