The Summit County Service Area No. 3 Board of Trustees will hold a public hearing on May 20 on a proposed water rate and fee schedule for Silver Creek Estates.
The hearing comes after a year of study and debate over a schedule approved in April 2024 that included a 25 cent fee for every gallon of water exceeding a lot’s allocation. The charge was based on data showing an increase in excessive usage, a staff report says.
In addition, administrative and legal efforts to enforce allocation limits and ensure every private well has a meter as required by state law are expensive, according to the service area.
But residents came together to oppose the overage charge, arguing it was excessive and questioning whether it was necessary. The board voted in June to re-evaluate the fee — which has not been enforced — and Service Area No. 3 has held public workshops and posted responses to constituent concerns about water rates and fees on its website.
The current proposal does not include the $0.25 overage fee. The monthly base rate for residential users connected to the system is $109 and the overage fees are $0.01 per gallon for a 30,001 to 40,000 gallon overage and those charges increase in tiers to $0.10 at 100,001 gallons and more.
Non-residential water system rates are $175 a month for up to 10,000 gallons and overage fees begin at $0.04 per gallon at 10,001 gallons and increase to $0.08 at 30,001 gallons and above.
Under the proposal, well users on a Service Area No. 3 water right would pay an annual $214 administration fee. The fee for usage above 325,851 gallons, or 1 acre foot, would be $0.01 per gallon for up to 10,000 gallons, with the charge going up in tiers to $0.10 per gallon for 100,001 gallons and above.
Resident Joe D’Urso, one of the opponents of the $0.25 overage fee, said the current proposal is reasonable, “especially in light of the state Legislature indicating a desire to penalize high water usage.”
“It will still be the highest in the region but at least it is in a reasonable distance to the next highest,” he said.