Sewer rates in Denver?
I'm being charged around $50/month for sewer, for an average-sized apartment in Denver. That seems like a lot, but I don't have a good baseline for comparison. Is that normal?
Posted Apr 30, 2020, 6:30 PM UTC
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There are two sewerage charges. One comes from Denver Water and is tied directly to your water consumption. Ours is about $12-15/month using 2000-4000 gallons a month (approximately). That one is in the water bil.
The other sewer is for like rain water management. It's based on the size of the lot and how much impervious space you have. I think it's bi-annual and ours is about $8.50/month ($100-ish) year.
So it sounds like you are getting screwed, but the rates in an apartment might be significantly different because of more complicated sewer lines and increased impervious space %. I assume you're paying the building, and not directly to Denver Water/Denver Public Works?
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Typically in this case (been there) you are being charged a portion of the total bill based on occupancy/apartment size (number of bedrooms). This likely includes watering any vegetation by management. They don’t meter every unit but just the complex and then bill is broken up amongst the tenants.
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It's likely either that, or even if each unit is metered separately they're still dividing up the "community" use between the residents. My last apartment did that.
Which sucks when you have year round outdoor heated swimming pools that you don't even use...
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Yeah that too.
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That’s too much unless they’re passing along the cost of a major sewer line repair to residents.
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My building also uses Conservice. My most recent sewer charge (2/12-3/12) was 10.28, storm water 4.84, water 5.06. My apartment is approximately 800 sq ft.
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Ask to audit the bill and find out your pro rata share.
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We pay between $42 and $68 a month (the latter in the summer when watering the veggie gardens) for a house and decent sized garden (2 people, 2 bathrooms, in-house laundry, 5000 sq ft lot).
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My sewer charges have been super high these last few months. I thought it might have been a leaky toilet, but I got that fixed and the bill is still high. I dunno any more.
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Sounds like they’re doing what most apartment complexes do, inventing fees and charges and skimming off the top.