On Tuesday, Dec. 9, the Highlands Ranch Water Board of Directors adopted the district’s 2026 budget and rates. The budget reflects a 6% rate increase plus a $2.25 increase to the infrastructure improvement fee. This equates to an increase of about $8.75/month for the average single-family home.

Money collected from rates recovers the cost of operations and maintenance including costs for staff, treatment chemicals, utilities, ongoing repair and maintenance of facilities, water acquisition and debt service. The 2026 increases will also fund rising operational expenses and significant capital investment to the Joseph B. Blake Water Treatment Plant, which will strengthen system reliability for our community.

The estimated annual water and wastewater bill for a typical single-family residence with a 7,500 sq. ft. lot will be $1,386. Customers will see increases in both fixed and variable water and wastewater costs reflected in their first full billing cycle of 2026. This is broken into the following charges on the average residential customer’s bill:

• Water usage per 1,000 gallons: $5.69/month
• Service availability fee: $21.28/month
• Wastewater usage per 1,000 gallons: $5.08/month
• Wastewater fixed fee: $16.61/month
• Infrastructure improvement fee: $9.75/month

Even with the 2026 rate adjustments, Highlands Ranch Water remains one of the most affordable providers in the region. To learn more about Highlands Ranch Water’s budget and rates, visit highlandsranchwater.org or email finance@hrwater.org.