Water

Water  Supply and Quality

The city's water distribution system provides a safe and reliable domestic water supply that complies with all state and federal laws.

Project 7 Water Authority provides high-quality, potable water to the City of Montrose and to municipalities and rural areas of the Uncompahgre River Valley through a unique cooperative effort among seven area water entities. View the city's most recent Drinking Water Quality Report from Project 7 or contact them for additional water quality and treatment information.

Water Service Fees and Taps

Fees for City of Montrose utilities are set according to the actual cost of operating, maintaining, upgrading, and expanding the utility. Current fees for monthly utility services, as well as taps and other associated fees, both residential and commercial, are contained in Section 3-1-8 of the Regulations Manual.

The Building Department coordinates fees and retapping due to repair or replacement of a service line.

Meter Reading

City water meters are read remotely on a monthly basis and customers are billed accordingly. The meter reading from the previous month is subtracted from the current reading to determine the amount of water actually used and the amount billed.

Questionable Meter Readings

Significant water usage increases that cause customers to question the reading on their utility bill may result from:

• Increased number of occupants
• Landscape watering
• Leaking toilets

Unusually high water usage readings that cannot reasonably be attributed to these or similar factors should be reported to Utility Billing so that the problem can be investigated further.

Cross-Connection and Backflow Prevention

Cross-connection control and backflow prevention requirements are intended to prevent contamination of the city's potable water distribution system. Failure to comply with these requirements can introduce chemical, biological, or radiological contaminants into the water supply.

To protect public health, all facilities (commercial and residential) using city water must have an approved backflow prevention assembly properly attached to the plumbing system.

Specific Cross-Connection Control Program requirements are found in the City of Montrose Municipal Code, Title 3, Chapter 8.