RMWSD explains the new rate structure in ERUs, and why they matter

When most of us turn on a water tap or flush a toilet, we give little thought to the complex systems in place to make those simple, daily activities possible. We just take it for granted that the water will be there. As a matter of fact, reports Peggy Quint, Business Office Manager at Round Mountain Water and Sanitation District (RMWSD), some of the district’s customers think those services “ought to be free.”

That alone indicates one of the district’s more significant and ongoing issues: communication with the public and customers.

Currently, that issue is front and center, as customers will experience an uptick in water rates in their next billing cycle. This is the result of adjusting billing to a more equitable balance across the spectrum of customers and their consumption. Yet in spite of informative inserts included in the last few months of mailed billings, open Board of Directors (BOD) meetings also covered in the Tribune, a public meeting, Facebook notifications, lead articles on their website, and a KLZR Valley Views interview focused on the new water rates, Dave Schneider, RMWSD’s General Manager, Quint and her office assistant Becky Montanari all expect the phones to be ringing in early February with queries about the increased billing: “What’s this!!!!”

That’s where ERUs come in: Equivalent Residential Units. In the formal language of the district’s announcement last year about water and wastewater rates and fees effective January 1 of this year, “Water and sewer service charges for all customers shall be based on an Equivalent Residential Unit (ERU) rating assigned to their account by the District in accordance with the classification and equivalent units chart as set forth in Section 5.2 of the District’s Rules and Regulations.”

In a lengthy conversation with Schneider last week, the Tribune received an education on ERUs that he and the district staff hope is understood by their customers. The unit is based on the ordinary consumption of a family of four in a two-bedroom, two-bathroom residence; the monthly base fee is $34.70. If a customer’s use exceeds this unit, a formula kicks in for determining the rate: for each additional unit, half of the base fee is added to the monthly billing.

The district could charge whatever the BOD would approve; however, RMWSD focuses on the realities of its customers. As Schnieder put it, “How do we establish rates fairly in a water district where 70% of our customers earn less than $40,000 a year?” Therefore, the 50% discount from the base fee on each unit increase was arrived at to remain equitable among district customers.

Five years ago, the BOD had made adjustments in wastewater fees, when it became evident that there was an inequity in billing. “We had the situation,” Schneider pointed out, “where our private customers were in effect subsidizing our larger commercial consumption customers, like the school. We adjusted billing so that if there were a greater demand for services from our commercial customers, they paid for it. Otherwise, it just wasn’t good business.”

Further, the mounting costs of operation could not be supported without an increase in fees. So, from 2019 forward there were annual incremental increases in wastewater fees, and budget needs were met.

Now, however, a similar situation is being addressed in relation to water consumption.

“There are unique and challenging realities in a small district,” Schneider said; RMWSD serves about 750 customers at the tap, with other about 500 additional customers using the district’s automated bulk water service at 701 Rosita Avenue, Westcliffe. (However, small water districts themselves are not unique: almost three quarters of the hundreds of Colorado water districts serve 5,000 customers or less.)

Among those realities are dealing with state regulatory agencies, who often approach water preparation, use, and waste “from a Front Range mentality.” Schneider though, over his 13-year career with RMWSD, is happy to report that after eleven years of patiently working with the state water engineer, he finally heard that official say, “Dave, you’re right.” Right that is, about how there are differing, realistic applications of rules and regs in a small district.

For example, staffing. Schneider says up front, “We are operators, not trainers.” That is, RMWSD does all it can to retain field employees, and that includes adequate salaries. The district does not want to see its technicians “move on” with their skills to larger districts, as has apparently been the experience in previous decades.

Further, federal and state rules and regs apply to all field staff operations in water suppliers and wastewater treatment. RMWSD’s staff of four field operators/technicians are responsible for the same matters a staff ten times that size are. Therefore, all four are certified in four areas—water treatment, wastewater treatment, water transmission, wastewater collection—and one is certified in a fifth area, backflow prevention.

Added to budget income/outflow concerns is the absolute need to address not only today, but tomorrow. “We look forward 10, 20, 40 years while projecting our essential services and yearly budget,” Schneider said. That has resulted in some very progressive programming over recent years. For example, automating meter reading from 2013 forward—a service present in only 10% of Colorado—has already paid for itself. The community is familiar with the years of planning, grant writing, and budget stress related to bringing RMWSD’s wastewater treatment into compliance with state and federal mandates. In 2026, through renting rather than purchasing equipment, a major grant, and donations of equipment the new processing plant will at last be underway. “Although we’re still looking for additional revenue sources,” Schneider noted.

Reservoir development is also in the works, with all the complexity water rights and water law bring with it. RMWSD has been so proactive in meeting customer’s needs that it has drawn national attention. About a dozen water managers from as far afield as Florida and Virginia have contacted Round Mountain to look into their services and programming. Schneider has been invited to speak at gatherings of the National Rural Water Association: “There is interest in what our concepts are, and how we expand services while remaining affordable.” About 120 of the district’s customers will be affected by the rate increases.

Schneider concluded our conversation by saying. “There are always new challenges, for example knowing that there will be new waste regulations in 2027, when removing elements from wastewater is already a challenge for a small community.”

RMWSD is always open to consumer observations but trusts that the matter of new billing in 2026 is perceived for what it is—maintaining equity in billing while addressing current and emerging growth needs efficiently and proactively.

Check out the Facebook page if you haven’t, and the informative website www.roundmountainwsdco.gov. And of course, a friendly call to 719-783-2604 is always welcome.

– W.A. Ewing