Monday October 23, 2023
KUNC —
Tap water is cheap. Maybe too cheap.
Municipal water departments in the Colorado River basin are entering a time of change. Their infrastructure is aging and needs replacement, and they’re starting to invest in new systems that will help cities adapt to a future with a smaller water supply. But, that means big spending and costs that will get passed along to the millions of people who use that water in sinks, showers and sprinklers.
“There’s literally nothing else you can have 1,000 gallons of delivered to your house at two in the morning for a few bucks,” said Mark Marlowe, water director in Castle Rock, Colorado.
Marlowe and other water experts across the arid West agree, the amount you pay for tap water should probably go up, and likely will over the next few decades — in large part due to aging infrastructure.