Capital Improvement Planning Ensures Fiscal Responsibility
At Spring Canyon Water and Sanitation District, it’s our responsibility to provide clean, safe, drinking water and reliable wastewater services to our community. We are able to do so through constant and strategic maintenance of our system’s infrastructure. Preparing for our future is not always easy, however, we are committed to being financially responsible and ensuring our budget is used efficiently. To tackle infrastructure needs, we have developed a Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) to address rehabilitation, and replacement needs before they become urgent or an emergency. Our infrastructure is largely the piping, or water and sewer lines, that connect your residence with supply (FCLWD) and treatment South Fort Collins Sanitation District (SFCSD) facilities. From the moment you turn your faucet on or pour something down the drain, it has travelled through a network of pipes and pumping stations constructed in our rugged terrain and subject to multiple changes in elevation requiring much more engineered and sophisticated hydraulics than systems in town. Separate from our rates, Spring Canyon Water & Sanitation District carefully considers capital infrastructure projects and costs each year. This is what constitutes the CIP surcharge on our customer’s monthly bills. The most vital CIP projects have been laid out over the next 10 years and can be viewed using the below links, along with a breakdown of the funding sources. In 2023, Spring Canyon Water & Sanitation District sold our dissolved air flotation (DAF) treatment property and allocated the proceeds of the sale to the CIP. This infusion of funds shortens the length of time it will take to complete the vital projects and allows for our most pressing projects to begin sooner. Although we did not raise our customer’s rates in 2023 or 2024, the District did increase tap fees for the first time in multiple years by a vote of the Board of Directors in our November 29, 2023 Rate Hearing. This increase applies to new customers wanting to join the District and is almost entirely a result of the rising cost of raw water in Northern Colorado, outside of the control of the District. The System Investment Fee collected as part of our tap fees is additional revenue that is allocated to our CIP. By increasing these fees to those who wish to join our District, it will increase CIP revenues without impacting the price our current customers pay. Please view the below materials to better understand the ongoing CIP Plan and the budgeting that supports these efforts.