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<br />
<br />I1 of us expect to have potable,
<br />drinkable, water flow from the
<br />spout when we turn on the fau-
<br />cet-in the kitchen, bathroom, even out-
<br />side to water the lawn. But nothing is
<br />absolutely free, so the question is, what
<br />do v~~e pay to have good water available
<br />at the twist of a handle, night or day,
<br />summer or winter, almost always there?
<br />According to the United States Cen-
<br />sus Bureau's Population Clock (Pop
<br />Clock), as of Dec. 31, 2008, the estimated
<br />U.S. population will be 305,602,183 per-
<br />sons (that's hundreds of millions) and
<br />growing at the rate of 2,869,776 persons
<br />per year. The Pop Clock also estimates a
<br />world population of 6,786,743,939 per-
<br />sons (that's in billions) by Dec. 31, 2008,
<br />and growing at the rate of 79,095,520
<br />persons per year. Everybody is entitled
<br />to safe potable water-or at the very
<br />least, some usable water-or we die.
<br />The amount of drinking water world-
<br />wide that should be available for all
<br />hands is an astonishing figure in the tril-
<br />CITY RATE
<br />Bloomington ........................$18.38
<br />Burnsville ...............................16.83
<br />Dayton .................................:.12.59
<br />Duluth ....................................28.19
<br />Eden Prairie ....................:......14.46
<br />Golden Valley .........................29.25
<br />Lakevil Ie .................................10.11
<br />Maple Grove ............................8.38
<br />Minneapolis ...........................28.00
<br />Plymouth ...............................11.81
<br />Rochester ..............................14.42
<br />St. Cloud ...............................28.28
<br />St. Paul ..................................20.48
<br />Bills are based on use of 7,500
<br />gallons a month.
<br />Source: 2008 survey conducted by AE2S,
<br />a specialized civil/environmental consulting
<br />engineering firm based in Grand Forks, ND.
<br />lions of gallons. To supply this potable
<br />water requires an intricate system of
<br />gathering, transporting, treating and
<br />distributing usable water. The United
<br />States has one of the most advanced net-
<br />works of systems to deliver such water,
<br />but at a cost that is increasing annually.
<br />The catch is: Almost without exception,
<br />the water at its source is FREE. Think
<br />about it, the most valuable part of the
<br />whole water equation-FREE. It doesn't
<br />seem right, does it?
<br />What is the true value of the origi-
<br />nal c~~ater no matter where it is? The
<br />rates for water today are infrastructure
<br />rates-dollars that pay for drilling,
<br />pumping, piping, storage, treating,
<br />distributing anal any of the other func-
<br />tions involved in handling the water.
<br />But, back up to where the original water
<br />is-underground, rivers, lakes, moun-
<br />tain snow packs, reservoirs, aquifers,
<br />wherever-the water is there for the
<br />taking-for FREE-and it's the most
<br />precious of commodities. After all, the
<br />water, no matter its source, belongs to
<br />you and me and everybody. But, when
<br />water from any source is used for some,
<br />the rest of us are, in effect, supplying the
<br />water to those "some"-a few getting
<br />life's precious resources belonging to
<br />"many" for FREE. How to put a price
<br />on the use of this "public" water-and
<br />more important, to whom should it be
<br />paid?
<br />One answer is to price the original
<br />water at a reasonable price, meter it and
<br />pay the cost of the metered amount to
<br />a public body to maintain the quantity
<br />and quality of original sources.
<br />In the meantime, the cost of water
<br />today is generally invoiced in a monthly
<br />or bi-monthly fashion by the managers
<br />of the infrastructure, such as municipali-
<br />ties, to homeowners who pay "the WTater
<br />bill," and that's it. I have collected water
<br />rate data for many municipalities of the
<br />United States-north, south, east, west
<br />and in between-and the following are
<br />those posted by the City of Denver-a
<br />burgeoning municipality tiTith constant
<br />problems of not having enough water in
<br />the semi-ari.d territory of the front range
<br />of the Rocky Mountains.
<br />"Denver Water" is a nonpolitical
<br />municipal agency independent from city
<br />government. It was formed in 1918 and
<br />is operated by the Board of Water Com-
<br />missioners. The utility supplies water
<br />for about 1.3 million people in Denver
<br />and some surrounding municipalities.
<br />Most of the water is from snowmelt in
<br />the mountains west of the area. (Snocv-
<br />melt is public water and critical to the
<br />area. Adrier-than-normal winter season
<br />in the mountains is catastrophic to
<br />snowmelt quantities.)
<br />Reservoirs, catchment basins, ponds
<br />and lakes store the snowmelt water,
<br />and a network of pipelines delivers the
<br />water to treatment facilities. Colorado
<br />has its share of "call" on Colorado River
<br />water when necessary, and Denver
<br />Water has used its "call" on this water
<br />when needed. At least 15 municipalities
<br />are all or in part serviced by Denver
<br />Water. Services from Denver Water are
<br />life and death matters for each and
<br />every resident and company in the
<br />greater Denver area.
<br />With 90 years of water delivery expe-
<br />rience, Denver Water has an extensive,
<br />tried and true, rate structure. Commenc-
<br />ing Jan. 1, 2009, the structure will have
<br />eight categories:
<br />1) A bimonthly service charge for alI
<br />customers of $7.26.
<br />2) Inside City and County Fees,
<br />ranging from $1.91 to $7.64 per 1,000
<br />gallons of water used bimonthly. Fees
<br />rise as water use rises.
<br />Passwords...Continues on page 11
<br />Dick Gray, founder of the Freshwater
<br />Society, has written the Passwords
<br />column since 1968. The columns
<br />are based on Gray's. belief that we '~,~
<br />must use our vast knowledge towork ;;
<br />toward the preservation of water.. ~ ~"
<br />FACETS December 2008 ~~
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