C.R.S. tit. 37, art. 97 — Water Metering Act | Colorado Revised Statutes (2024 edition) — Colorado

C.R.S. § 37-97-101 Short title

37-97-101. Short title. This article shall be known and may be cited as the "Water Metering Act".

C.R.S. § 37-97-102 Definitions

37-97-102. Definitions. As used in this article, unless the context otherwise requires: (1) "Water service supplier" means any person who, for compensation, provides water for human consumption or for household use through a system of pipes, structures, or other facilities if such system has at least six hundred unmetered taps.

C.R.S. § 37-97-102.5 Exemptions

37-97-102.5. Exemptions. (1) Communities receiving their water supply from free-flowing springs shall be exempt from this article. (2) Raw water piped irrigation systems in communities that have separate raw water piped irrigation systems and domestic water systems shall be exempt from this article. (3) Communities under sanction by the department of public health and environment for water quality standards shall be exempt from this article.

C.R.S. § 37-97-103 Mandatory use of metered water delivery and billing systems

37-97-103. Mandatory use of metered water delivery and billing systems. (1) Every water service supplier providing water in this state shall provide a metered water delivery and billing service to its customers according to the following schedule: (a) For any new construction serviced by such water service supplier, including but not limited to construction for residential, commercial, or industrial use, meters shall be installed at the time of such construction. (b) For any existing construction with unmetered taps, meters shall be installed on fifty percent of such taps on or before January 1, 2000. For any taps remaining unmetered as of January 1, 2000, meters shall be installed on fifty percent of such taps on or before January 1, 2005, and on all remaining unmetered taps on or before January 1, 2009. (2) Billing of such water services based on the metered service shall begin no later than ninety days from the date of the installation of the meter. (3) Any increase in the rates charged for such water service attributed to such installation and billing service requirements shall be based upon the actual costs of such installation and billing service. Such increase may recover the total cost of providing such service to the customers of the water service provider. (4) Nothing in this section shall preclude a water service supplier from providing such metered water delivery and billing service prior to the dates specified in subsections (1) and (2) of this section or from seeking a corresponding rate increase necessitated by the provision of such service prior to those dates. (5) Within an industrial customer operation, multiple water uses shall not be considered separate service connections. Deliveries to any customer other than a detached single family residential customer who may be subject to this article may be metered by the use of a single meter for the entire customer or operation. (6) A mobile home park, as defined in section 38-12-201.5 (6), that makes water service available to tenants but does not bill the tenants for water as a separate item is exempt from this article 97.