What will it cost to water a Westminster lawn next July? A listing doesn't answer that, and a seller's past bills only show what the old rates produced. A resident task force has proposed a new water rate structure for 2027, and City Council has not yet acted on it. Meanwhile, the city budget, which Westminster Window reports funds new water plant staff through a water rate hike, is up for a final vote on October 26, 2026.
Under the proposal, the per-gallon price would rise faster the more water a household uses. A low-use townhome would see almost no change. A large irrigated lot would see the biggest increase, in dollars and in percentage terms. If you're comparing Westminster homes this fall, how much water a home uses now matters about as much as its size.
A gallon gets more expensive the more of them you use
Westminster has used tiered water rates for more than 40 years. The city's posted 2026 In City single-family rates are listed below. Shaw Heights and out-of-city customers have separate rate schedules.
- $4.20 per 1,000 gallons for the first 8,000 gallons in a month
- $7.66 per 1,000 gallons from there up to 40,000 gallons
- $9.58 per 1,000 gallons above that
- A fixed water infrastructure charge of $15.34 a month for a standard 5/8-inch meter
Most homes use little water indoors. Irrigation is what pushes a summer bill into the upper tiers. The city's WATER Task Force estimated that an average user's combined water and sewer bill runs from about $72 a month in winter to $142 in summer. It put typical annual totals at about $635 for low-use customers, $1,125 for average users and $1,793 for high users. Those figures come from the task force's July 2026 report and reflect 2026 rates.
At 2026 rates, the yard already accounts for most of the difference between a cheap annual bill and an expensive one. The 2027 proposal would make that gap bigger.
What the proposal would do to four different summer months
The WATER Task Force report, presented to City Council on July 6, 2026, recommends splitting the single-family structure into four tiers. The proposed 2027 rates are $4.16 per 1,000 gallons up to 4,000 gallons, $4.50 from 4,000 to 8,000, $8.34 from 8,000 to 40,000, and $10.84 above 40,000. The report says these rates already include its recommended 4.9% increase in water utility revenue for 2027 and 2028. It also says that revenue increase "does not translate directly" into equal increases for every customer.
To see who that lands on, we applied each tier's rate to its block of gallons for four sample months. The table compares the water usage charge under the 2026 In City rates with the proposed 2027 rates. It leaves out the fixed charge and sewer, and it assumes the proposal is adopted as written. These figures are our own arithmetic. The city has not published them.
| Monthly water use | 2026 usage charge | Proposed 2027 usage charge | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4,000 gallons | $16.80 | $16.64 | down $0.16, about 1% |
| 8,000 gallons | $33.60 | $34.64 | up $1.04, about 3% |
| 20,000 gallons | $125.52 | $134.72 | up $9.20, about 7% |
| 50,000 gallons | $374.52 | $409.92 | up $35.40, about 9.5% |
At the bottom tier, the price per gallon goes down. At the top, a heavy summer month would cost about 9.5% more. The report describes the four-tier design as a way to protect affordable indoor water use while adding "a conservation pricing signal."
This changes how a buyer might compare two homes at the same price. Take a house on a big lot with established turf and a house with a small, low-water yard. Their July bills already differ under 2026 rates, and the proposal would widen that gap every summer.
Sewer is set in winter, and that's where the other half of the bill sits
Water is only part of the utility bill. Westminster has no sewer meters. The city's FAQ says the sewer charge is "calculated based on the water used in the winter months and billed the months of January, February, and March," because winter use is the best measure of indoor use. The 2026 In City residential sewer rate is $9.90 per 1,000 gallons of average winter use. Every customer also pays a monthly "readiness to serve" minimum equal to the charge for 2,000 gallons. The city's FAQ says the average single-family customer uses about 4,000 gallons a month in winter.
That matters for anyone buying in the next few months. The household living in a home this winter is the one whose winter usage the sewer charge is based on. A seller who is away much of the winter, or a home that sits vacant, may have bills that don't show what a full-time household would pay. We couldn't find a city page explaining how the sewer charge is set for a new account with no winter history. Westminster's utility billing office is the right place to ask.
Sewer is also where the proposal's critics focus. In its August 6 newsletter, Westminster Window reported Councilor Kristine Ireland's view that planned sewer increases would offset the proposed water reductions. She also said summer water bills for most residents would likely be higher under the new tiers. The paper noted that about two-thirds of Westminster's residents live in single-family housing. Our research did not turn up a published 2027 sewer rate, so the size of any sewer change is still open.
Condos and townhomes would get their own rate class
If you're shopping for an attached home, the bigger change is a new rate class. Multi-family customers are currently grouped with the irrigation class and pay a flat $8.87 per 1,000 gallons. The task force recommends a separate multi-family class with per-unit tiers. Under that structure, the price would be $8.12 for the first 3,000 gallons per unit, $8.77 from 3,000 to 6,000, $10.47 from 6,000 to 9,000, and $14.20 above 9,000. The same per-unit idea as the single-family proposal applies here. Low-use units would pay a little less per gallon, and high-use properties would pay noticeably more.
Councilor Obi Ezeadi said at the work session that some proposals, including those for multi-family residents with individual water meters, call for lower rates. He called it the first time in Westminster history that some water rates would go down, Westminster Window reported. The task force itself was split on timing. Some members preferred to wait for a more detailed cost-of-service study, citing possible disruption to revenue allocations and the administrative work of verifying unit counts.
The timing matters for attached-home buyers. The Denver Metro Association of REALTORS® September 2026 market report found 7.21 months of inventory for attached homes across the metro in September 2026, with a median close price of $365,500, down 6.28% year over year. The report says attached buyers have more leverage and that sellers have to account for HOA and insurance costs. Those are metro-wide figures, not Westminster-specific. Still, when buyers have more leverage, carrying costs get more attention, and a utility bill whose structure is changing is part of the carrying cost.
Where the decision stands as of October 12, 2026
The task force's report states plainly that "final authority on all rate and policy decisions rests with the Westminster City Council." Here's what has happened since the July 6 presentation:
- July 6. The task force presented its recommendations to Council. Westminster Window reported that Council made no decisions at that study session, and that Councilor Ireland pointed to an earlier council agreement not to approve utility rate increases above 4%. She said, "It would be hard for me to go against that." We could not find a city record of that agreement, so it stands here as her statement.
- August work session. Councilors debated the tiers. Most seemed open to turning the task force into a permanent Utility Advisory Board. City staff was expected to return with more detail at another work session.
- September. Westminster Window's budget coverage reported that the proposed 2027 budget adds nine employees for the new Drinking Water Facility, funded through a water rate hike.
- October 12 and October 26. The budget's first reading was scheduled for October 12, with the final vote on October 26.
Task force members toured the aging Semper water treatment facility and the new treatment plant under construction. The proposed revenue increase is meant to fund ongoing repair and replacement of the city's water delivery system. As of today, we have not found an adopted 2027 rate ordinance. Every 2027 figure in this post is still a proposal.
What to ask for before you write an offer
Utility bills rarely come up during a showing. You can still request them while you're doing your due diligence:
- Twelve months of utility bills. January through March sets the sewer charge, and July and August show how much the yard uses.
- How the yard is watered. Turf and in-ground irrigation put more summer gallons into the upper tiers than a low-water yard does.
- How an attached home is metered. For a condo or townhome, ask whether the unit has its own meter. The proposed multi-family tiers apply per unit.
- Whether the home was occupied all winter. A home that sat empty or was only partly occupied may have a lower sewer charge than you would pay.
- Which rate schedule applies. In City, Shaw Heights and out-of-city customers have different rates.
This post is general information about how Westminster bills water and sewer and what the task force has proposed. It isn't legal or financial advice, so confirm current rates and your own situation with the City of Westminster and the right professionals.
FAQ
Are the 2027 water rates in this post final? No. As of October 12, 2026, they are recommendations from the WATER Task Force, and City Council has final authority. The budget that includes the water plant staffing has its final vote scheduled for October 26.
Would a low-use household pay less under the proposal? Its water usage rate would drop slightly in the first tier, from $4.20 to $4.16 per 1,000 gallons. Any 2027 sewer change could offset that, and no 2027 sewer rate has been published.
Why does my winter usage matter if I water mostly in summer? Westminster sets the sewer charge from winter water use, because there are no sewer meters and winter use reflects what goes down the drain indoors.
Comparing a Westminster house with a big yard and a townhome on a smaller budget? North Metro Realty can request utility records early and help you factor the water and sewer bills into your offer. Call or text to start your home search or get a home valuation.
