Longmont raises water cash-in-lieu fee to $63,000 per acre-foot in 2027
The new rate will add $3,375 per acre-foot for developers who satisfy remaining raw-water obligations with cash.
Longmont approved a resolution raising the fee developers pay in lieu of providing some required water rights to $63,000 per acre-foot beginning Jan. 1, 2027 — a $3,375 increase from the current rate.
The resolution says the fee applies when a raw-water deficit remains after historic water rights associated with a property have been transferred. Developers can satisfy the remaining obligation with cash instead of additional water rights.
The city uses the policy during annexation review and when a development requires additional satisfaction of its raw-water requirements, according to the staff report. The fee is based on the cost of Colorado-Big Thompson Project water units and the cash value of St. Vrain Creek water rights identified in Longmont’s Raw Water Requirement Policy.
A June analysis calculated implied rates of $64,276 using the federal Producer Price Index for construction, $62,547 using the Consumer Price Index and $62,189 using the Denver Engineering News-Record Construction Cost Index. The Water Board recommended $63,000 after considering those measures and a regional composite approach for future adjustments, according to the June Water Board packet.
For a project with a one-acre-foot cash obligation, the change would add $3,375 to its water-related development cost. Larger water deficits would produce proportionally larger increases.
Longmont’s Water Resources and Supply page says cash-in-lieu payments are used to acquire raw water, including through water-right purchases and water-supply projects. City financial policies also allow Water Acquisition Fund revenue to support conservation programs that offset the need to buy additional rights.