Doing Business with Us

This information will be useful to anyone that desires to do, or potentially to do, business with the District as a water customer. Dealings with the District fall into a few broad categories: getting water; billing issues; reporting water-related problems; and, impacts of construction activities on District infrastructure.

Finding Information

Information about the District is available on this web site. In addition, the monthly meetings provide a good source of information (based on the agenda), as well as contacting any of the Directors, Systems Operators, or the Business Office. Please refer to the Contact Us page. Suggestions for additional information on the web site are welcome via the webmaster.

Note: Much of the information available through the web site requires Adobe Acrobat Reader, which may be obtained free through download Adobe Reader.

Getting Water from the District

The process and information required in order to get water from the District depends on a number of factors, including if the service address is within the District, and, if within the District, has a water tap been purchased. Each process and the required information is described below.

Must Be In Service Area

The District has a defined boundary that encloses a contiguous "Service Area" that has been approved per Intergovernmental Agreement with the City of Lafayette, Boulder County Commissions, and filed and approved by the District Court. The District's boundaries are roughly the Paragon Estates, Panorama Park, and Benchmark Estates. Within the Service Area, a particular property may or may not be "Included" within the District. If the subject property is within the Service Area, then continue with either the "Non-District Resident" or "District Resident without Tap" processes described below. If the Service Area must be expanded to include the subject property, a much lengthier and more costly process is required.

Non-District Resident

If you are not a District resident, you need to "Include" into the District before you can purchase a tap. To find out whether you are a District resident, look at your most recent Boulder County property tax bill for a line that says "E Boulder Cnty Water." If not present, you are not part of the District and must go through the Inclusion process.

To Include into the District, you must complete the Inclusion Petition, have it notarized, and send it with your check and a photocopy of your property deed to: East Boulder County Water District, President, PO Box 18641, Boulder, CO 80308-1641.

The Board will schedule an Inclusion Hearing as part of a regular monthly meeting (including it in the agenda), and notify you of the date. You are not required to be present, but it may be helpful if there are questions about your petition. If the Board decides it is in the best interest of the District to include your property, it will vote to include you. After that, the Board submits the inclusion to the District Court for approval. Approval is usually a formality. Then, you receive a letter saying that you are a member of the District. The Boulder County Assessor's office will update the property tax information, indicating the property is now a part of the District.

The City of Lafayette currently has no restrictions on issuing water taps within the District. However, during the last drought the City placed a moratorium on new taps. The District will not approve an Inclusion Petition unless a water tap is available from the City at that time of petition (verified by the District) and the petitioner agrees to purchase a tap immediately upon approval of the Inclusion Petition by the District Court.

If there is not a water main currently in the street in front of your property, you will have to pay to have the water main extended to your property line. The District makes provisions for the possibility that other customer(s) will make use of your extension, by having all parties enter into a Reimbursement Agreement with the petitioner. Under this agreement, the petitioner will be repaid some of the costs of line extension. An example of such a reimbursement agreement is shown here.

District Resident without Tap

You must pay the District's tap fee (which includes the fee the District must pay to the City of Lafayette and the cost of the meter) plus the actual cost of the installation of the meter pit before you can receive water. We will typically locate the service meter approximately at your property line adjacent to the water main. Within reason, we will accommodate other specific location requests for the placement of the meter pit, but there could be cost implications to the requestor. After the meter is in, you can arrange for a contractor to make the service connection from the meter to the house (at your expense). Only a licensed plumber or licensed contractor may make the final connection, which must be monitored by the District's system operators. Only type K copper pipe can be used for a service line.

If your home is, or was, served by a well or cistern, you are required to complete a Cross-Connection Agreement before the District can turn on the water. This agreement says that you will not physically connect any other water source with the District's water. This is a primary requirement of the City of Lafayette to supply water to the District.

Change in Property Ownership

If selling your home, please tell the realtor, buyers, and closing company that your water service is provided by the East Boulder County Water District. Even though the water itself originates with the City of Lafayette, the City cannot provide the information about our system or our bills.

There are several actions that must be taken when a property, that is part of the District, changes ownership. The Business Office must be notified of the sale. When the final billing for the existing owner is requested in preparation of closing documents, a final meter read is made and the final charges due to the District, including any unpaid balance, is provided to the title company and the water to the property is shut-off. The buyer of the property must contact the Business Office, providing their information. When water service is requested, the Business Office will notify the system operators to obtain an initial meter read and to turn on the water. This meter reading will be used to determine the first water bill.

Water Delivery Service Change

At times, for example an extended vacation or a house is vacant waiting to be sold, it may be desirable to shut off water service to the property. Caution must be taken if a fire suppression system uses water provided by the District.  Following such a shut off, the water service to the property must be resumed. Only the property owner may request this service. The following describes the process for these scenarios.

Shut Off Water Service

A property owner may request that the water to the property be shut off. The minimum period that the water may be shut off is one (1) month. The request is made to the Business Office using the Water Delivery Service Change Request form. The office will schedule a meter read on the requested shut-off date, shut off the water service, and initiate the change in the billing status to Non-Connected Service Fee effective the next billing cycle.

Turn On Water Service

A property owner may request that the water be turned on. The request is made to the Business Office using the Water Delivery Service Change Request form. The office will schedule a meter read on the requested turn-on date, the system operators will turn on the water service and the Business Office will change in the billing status to Connected Service Fee (Tap Service Charge) effective the current billing cycle of the request date.

Water Quality Assurance

The District is committed to distributing excellent water quality. While the City of Lafayette treats and analyzes the water that is supplied to the District, the District System Operators perform monthly water tests to ensure proper chlorine levels. Testing for lead is performed annually.

Annually, the District, and the City of Lafayette, are each required to generate and make available a Consumer Confidence Report. The District's report is minimal since City of Lafayette actually treats the water. Both reports are available at Water Quality.

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Billing

Customer code on payments

To ensure the accurate recording of a payment for water service, un-connect service charge, tap fee, etc., please ensure your Customer Code is on the payment. This can help reduce District operating costs by reducing the amount of time required by the District's bookkeeper.

 [Others to be added]

Reporting Water-Related Problems

Building Signal light

A white strobe light has been installed in the window of the building at 7493 Spring Drive. This light will go on if the water level within the storage tank falls below an established level.

Caution: If the light at 7493 Spring Drive is seen flashing, please notify either of the System Operators or any of the Directors. Numbers are available at Contact Us.

[Others to be added]

Construction and repairs

The District's water distribution infrastructure exceeds $4.5 million. The impact of any damage includes financial, health via contaminated water, and service disruption to the District's members. Experience has shown that the greatest risk is construction that affects the infrastructure. To mitigate such impacts, the District activity protects the infrastructure through policy, practice, procedures, and services provided to members when construction  occurs. If any activity, including landscaping, construction, and digging could possibly affect District infrastructure (see Locating Utilities) may occur, please notify the District system operators to identify any potential area(s) of concern and to monitor any construction that may be required. Damaged infrastructure and subsequent repair is the responsibility of the property owner and any associated costs could be substantial.

Water System Description

The District's water system is composed of a number of components:

• large mains carrying water from the City of Lafayette's system and throughout the District
• a master meter to measure the water delivered to the District
• a 100,000 gallon water storage tank to provide for fire-fighting and other temporary demands for significant quantities of water
• both quick-response and higher-volume pumps to provide water to the distribution system
• emergency generator to support all power requirements in event of an Excel power interruption

The system operators monitor the system for correct operation and on a scheduled basis collect water for testing at an authorized test laboratory and exercise the buried values and fire hydrants.

Locating Utilities

Colorado law requires that a property owner or contractor request utility locates prior to digging, for any purpose. The District's System Operators must be contacted at least three (3) days prior to when the locate is required to confirm a locate. A description of what and where work is to be done must be included. There is no fee for this service.

Repairs After Construction

[To be added.]

Requesting Monitoring

[To be added.]