City of Boulder Utilities – Water and Utility Billing
City of Boulder and selected outside-city agreements and water-service areas
Population reference
Approximately 120,000 residents and numerous businesses, according to the city’s current Water Conservation page; the city’s service area includes city customers and selected outside-city agreements.
Billing detail
Broad public detail found
Official destination
Open provider website ↗Provider-specific findings
Billing and account research from public material
Provider-specific research notes are displayed separately from fields that contain only an unavailable-information marker. Read qualifiers in each note and verify current account terms with the provider.
- Billing frequency
- Monthly. Boulder bills water, wastewater, and flood/stormwater services each month. Billing dates vary by neighborhood and meter-read timing, and the city states that all payments are due within ten days after the customer receives the utility bill.
- Rate structure
- Increasing block water-budget structure. Each account receives a monthly budget based on indoor and outdoor needs, past usage, property characteristics, and seasonal demand. For 2026, Block 1 is $5.65 per 1,000 gallons for 0–60% of budget, Block 2 is $7.53 for 61–100%, Block 3 is $15.06 for 101–150%, Block 4 is $22.58 for 151–200%, and Block 5 is $37.64 above 200%. A 3/4-inch inside-city meter has a $21.51 monthly service charge; outside-city service is $32.27. Only actual water used is billed, but the budget determines the applicable block price.
- Residential cost reference
- For a typical 3/4-inch inside-city account, the published 2026 base water charge is $21.51 and the wastewater base is $17.20. If a 5,000-gallon month falls within the account’s first two water blocks and 5,000 gallons is below the property’s AWC, the water portion is approximately $49.76 if all use is conservatively modeled at Block 2 ($21.51 + 5 × $5.65/$7.53 mix); the wastewater portion is about $61.50 ($17.20 + 5 × $8.86), before stormwater. At 7,000 gallons, a simple all-Block-2 water estimate is $74.22 and wastewater is $79.22 if 7,000 gallons is below AWC, but actual costs depend on the water budget and winter cap. Boulder’s 2026 stormwater fee for a single-family parcel up to 15,000 square feet is $29.88, making a rough combined illustration near $141–$183 before other fees.
- Wastewater and sewer calculation
- Boulder wastewater has a 2026 inside-city quantity charge of $8.86 per 1,000 gallons plus a 3/4-inch service charge of $17.20. During the Average Winter Consumption calculation period, December through March, residential quantity charges use actual water use. During the remainder of the year, residential wastewater quantity is the lesser of actual water use and the most recent AWC. AWC is the average monthly water use shown on the most recent December–March bills. Water budgets do not control the wastewater calculation; the sewer calculation is separate and applies the lower-of-actual-or-AWC limit.
- Meter reading
- Boulder reads water meters once per month. Radio transmitters installed in or near the meter pits send the meter signal to city vehicles equipped with mobile data-collection systems as they drive past. The portal provides historical usage graphs, average daily cost, water-budget comparisons, and consumption alerts; customers can request one complimentary extra meter read every six months, with additional reads charged. Only authorized city personnel may open the meter pit, and customers must keep foliage, snow, ice, fencing, and other obstructions away from the radio path and meter access.
- New-account deposit
- The current Boulder residential billing pages do not publish a universal start-up deposit, credit-check waiver, or deposit-return schedule. A $3,600 deposit is required for a contractor hydrant meter, and that temporary-service deposit is not an ordinary residential account requirement. New physical connections also incur separate plant-investment and tap fees. New tenants start service through the Customer Billing Portal; account-specific commercial or prior-debt requirements should be confirmed with Utility Billing.
- Activation or transfer fee
- Existing customers can start, stop, or transfer service through the Customer Billing Portal. Boulder’s service-request form must be received at least 48 hours before a business-day move-in or move-out and no more than 14 days in advance. A final water-meter reading is required for a property transfer and has a published special/final-read fee of $55. The current public page does not publish a separate ordinary residential account-transfer fee; new physical water and wastewater connections have separate 2026 plant-investment and tap charges.
Context, not a score
How documentation coverage compares
This profile
100%
overview fields with research notes
Colorado
68%
records with any overview detail
National index
50%
records with any overview detail
Coverage measures what this directory documented. It does not measure service quality, affordability, or regulatory compliance.
Research record
Broad public detail found
7 of 7 fields in this section contain provider-specific public detail in dataset August 1, 2026.
Documented
100%
Primary verification routes
- City of Boulder Utilities – Water and Utility Billing public website ↗
Provider-controlled destination used to confirm current customer instructions.
- EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System ↗
Federal background on public water-system records and their limitations.