Doing Business with Us

This information will be useful to anyone that desires to do, or potentially to do, business with the District as a water customer. Dealings with the District fall into a few broad categories: getting water; billing issues; reporting water-related problems; and, impacts of construction activities on District infrastructure.

Finding Information

Information about the District is available on this web site. In addition, the monthly meetings provide a good source of information (based on the agenda), as well as contacting any of the Directors, Systems Operators, or the Business Office. Please refer to the Contact Us page. Suggestions for additional information on the web site are welcome via the webmaster.

Note: Much of the information available through the web site requires Adobe Acrobat Reader, which may be obtained free through download Adobe Reader.

Current Water Restrictions

As required by our Intergovernmental Agreement with the City of Lafayette, the District implements any watering restrictions that are implemented by the City of Lafayette. If there are restriction(s) in effect, they will be described here. The News Alters section of the Home page will indicate if watering restrictions are in place.

November 6, 2013 New Permanent Restrictions

Lafayette City Council has determined that three water conservation measures put into place during the 2013 drought should be enacted as permanent restrictions. An ordinance (ORDINANCE NO. 27, Series 2013) was passed on November 6, 2013 to implement these restrictions. They thought that these practices were prudent, regardless of drought conditions. The restrictions are summarized as follows and more information concerning conservation can be found on the Lafayette web site (www.cityoflafayette.com/gogreen).

1. No outdoor irrigation may occur between the hours of 10 am and 6 pm. (hand hose watering is okay)

2. Excessive overrun of water is prohibited.

3. Washing of paved area is not allowed.

Getting Water from the District

The process and information required in order to get water from the District depends on a number of factors, including if the service address is within the District, and, if within the District, has a water tap been purchased. Each process and the required information is described below.

Must Be In Service Area

The District has a defined boundary that encloses a contiguous "Service Area" that has been approved per Intergovernmental Agreement with the City of Lafayette, Boulder County Commissions, and filed and approved by the District Court. The District's boundaries are roughly those of Paragon Estates, Panorama Park, and Benchmark Estates and may be seen on this District Boundary Map.

 Within the Service Area, a particular property may or may not be "Included" within the District. If the subject property is within the Service Area, then continue with either the "Non-District Member" or "District Member without Tap" processes described below. If the Service Area must be expanded to include the subject property, a much lengthier and more costly process is required.

Non-District Member

If you are not a Member within the District, you need to "Include" into the District before you can purchase a tap. To find out whether you are a Member of the District, look at your most recent Boulder County property tax bill for a line that says "E Boulder Cnty Water." If not present, you are not part of the District and must go through the Inclusion process.

Complete an Inclusion Petition

To Include into the District, you must complete the Inclusion Petition, have it notarized, and send it with your check for the fees identified below and a photocopy of your property deed, a survey of the property and Improvement Location Certificate to:

President
East Boulder County Water District
PO Box 18641
Boulder, CO 80308-1641

Inclusion Process

The Board will schedule an Inclusion Hearing as part of a regular monthly meeting (including it in the agenda), and notify you of the date. You are not required to be present, but it may be helpful if there are questions about your petition.

1. If the Board decides it is in the best interest of the District to include your property, it will vote to include you.

2. After that, the Board submits the inclusion to the District Court for approval.

3. If approved, you receive notification saying that you are a member of the District.

4. If a Water Tap Permit Request is submitted at the time of the Inclusion request along with appropriate fees, the Water Tap is processed.

5. The Boulder County Assessor's office will update the property tax information, indicating the property is now a part of the District.

Note: The City of Lafayette currently has no restrictions on issuing water taps within the District. However, during the last drought the City placed a moratorium on new taps. The District can not guarantee the availability of a water tap from the City of Lafayette. The District will verify the availability of a tap at the time of Inclusion and notify the owner of said availability. It is the owner's responsibility to make the decision to acquire the tap at the time of Inclusion or at a later time, being aware of the potential unavailability of a tap at a later time.

District Member without Tap

There are a number of activities assoiated with obtaining a Water Tap within the District. Once a property is Included within the District, a Water Tap (assuming availability from the City of Lafayette) may be aquired. The steps include:

1. Complete the Water Tap Permit form.

2. You are required to comlete a Cross-Connection Agreement before the District can approve the tap and turn on the water. This agreement says that you will not physically connect any other water source with the District's water system. This is a primary requirement of the City of Lafayette to supply water to the District.

3. If there is not a water main currently in the street in front of your property, you will have to pay to have the water main extended to your property line. See Reimbursement Agreement when Water Main Extended for additional details.

4. Pay the necessary fees.

Reimbursement Agreement when Water Main Extended

There are two circumstances when costs are incurred to the homeowner due to the need for a water main to be extended to provide water to an address.

You are First User for a new Extension

Your address is the first address needing water where there is no existing water main. The District makes provisioins for the possibility that other customer(s) will make use of any extension you have had installed, by having all parties enter into a Reimbursement Agreement with the petitioner. Unnder this Agreement, the petitioner will be repaid some of the costs of the line extension on a prorated (by distance) basis. This is an example of a Reimbursement Agreement.

You Use Someone Else's Extension

The District identifies if a Reimbursement Agreement is involved for the water main providing water to your address. If there is, the District will identify the amount(s) and payee(s) for the reimbursement of some of the costs they incurred to extend the water main. The reimbursement(s) must be made before water is provided by the District to the address.

Water Tap Acquisition and Installation

You must pay: the District's and the City of Lafayette's Water Tap Fees (based on the size of the meter selected) plus the actual cost of installation of the meter pit before you can receive water. We will typically locate the service meter approximately at your property line adjacent to the water main. Within reason, we will accommodate other specific location requests for the placement of the meter pit, but there could be cost implications to the requestor.

After the meter is in, you can arrange for a contractor to make the service connection from the meter to the house (at your expense). Only a licensed plumber or licensed contractor may make the final connection, which must be monitored by the District's system operators. There are only two types of piping that may be used for the service line:

1. Type K copper pipe.

2. High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) pipe conforming to ANSI/AWWA Standard C 901 (most recent edition), PE 3408 with a DR 9, pressure class 200. The pipe material shall be listed and approved for potable water in accordance with NSF Standard 61. A 12-guage single strand copper tracer wire must be attached to the service pipe with 2-inch wide PVC tape.

Summary of Fees Associated with Inclusion and Water Tap

There are a number fees, authorized by the Rules and Reguations and identified in the Fee Schedule, that are associated with Including within the District and obtaining a Water Tap:

Change in Property Ownership

If selling your home, please tell the realtor, buyers, and closing company that your water service is provided by the East Boulder County Water District. Even though the water itself originates with the City of Lafayette, the City cannot provide the information about our system or our bills.

There are several actions that must be taken when a property, that is part of the District, changes ownership. The Business Office must be notified of the sale. When the final billing for the existing owner is requested in preparation of closing documents, a final meter read is made and the final charges due to the District, including any unpaid balance, is provided to the title company and the water to the property is shut-off. The buyer of the property must contact the Business Office, providing their information. When water service is requested, the Business Office will notify the system operators to obtain an initial meter read and to turn on the water. This meter reading will be used to determine the first water bill.

Water Delivery Service Change

At times, for example an extended vacation or a house is vacant waiting to be sold, it may be desirable to shut off water service to the property. Caution must be taken if a fire suppression system uses water provided by the District.  Following such a shutoff, the water service to the property must be resumed. Only the property owner may request this service. The following describes the process for these scenarios.

Shut Off Water Service

A property owner may request that the water to the property be shut off. The minimum period that the water may be shut off is three (3) months. The request is made to the Business Office using the Water Delivery Service Change Request form. The office will schedule a meter read on the requested shut-off date, shut off the water service and lock the meter, and initiate the change in the billing status to Non-Connected Service Charge effective the next billing cycle.

Turn On Water Service

A property owner may request that the water be turned on. The request is made to the Business Office using the Water Delivery Service Change Request form. The office will schedule a meter read on the requested turn-on date, the system operators will turn on the water service and the Business Office will change the billing status to Connected Service Fee (Tap Service Charge) effective the current billing cycle of the request date.

Water Quality Assurance

The District is committed to distributing excellent water quality. While the City of Lafayette treats and analyzes the water that is supplied to the District, the District System Operators perform monthly water tests to ensure proper chlorine levels. Testing for lead is performed annually.

Annually, the District (and the City of Lafayette) are each required to generate and make available a Consumer Confidence Report. The District's report is minimal since City of Lafayette actually treats the water. Both reports are available at Water Quality.

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Billing

The District, on July 1, 2019, implemented a new billing system that offers improved services to customers and assists District administrative personnel in performing necessary activities.

A number of changes are being implemented along with the new system. An entirely new invoice format will be the primary change that will be noticed by the Customer.

Changes Customers Need to Make

Account Numbers. In the new system, the account number is associated with a customer, and not the property. The old system used the lot number both for the property and who ever was the owner of the property. The existing three-digit account numbers are expanded to six digits. This was accomplished by adding three leading zeros to existing numbers (e.g., 002 becomes 000002). Please ensure the six-digit account number is associated with any financial transactions for the EBCWD.

Lot Numbers. This is now solely assigned to the property and the tap serving the property, and not the owner of the property at any point in time. The Lot Number is three-digits in length.

Making Payments. Following initial implementation of the new billing system, payment must be made as is currently done, by check or bank bill pay (generating a check payable to the EBCWD).