FIRESTONE, Colo. — A water bill dispute in the Town of Firestone has residents reaching out to Denver7 with concerns their water could get shut off.
It comes down to separate interpretations of an agreement between town leaders and the Central Weld County Water District (CWCWD), which provides water to Firestone.
"I think we as citizens just really want to know, get to the bottom of this issue. How did it occur? Why did it occur? And let's come to a reasonable resolution for everybody, not just private citizens, not just for myself here at the Legion, small businesses as well," Sally Janich said.
She's an officer for the American Legion in Firestone. The organization is celebrating its 40th anniversary on Saturday. On top of planning, she said the group is worrying about water.
Denver7 took those same questions to CWCWD, which said it's been trying to come to a resolution with the town since April.
CWCWD wouldn't do an interview because of a temporary restraining order put in place to prevent the agency from turning off water services. Stan Linker, CWCWD district manager, made it clear CWCWD never threatened to do that, and don't want to do that, but said it is in option.
“The focus right now if the town to bring its account current to avoid further escalation and disruption of service to the community," Denver7 was told in a statement.
CWCWD said Firestone has been making payments under the same agreement for over 15 years, and town leaders are now raising concerns they aren't being billed correctly.
Firestone's mayor Don Conyac stopped replying to efforts to set up an interview. He was originally out of town.
However in a message to the community, he said the only amount of the water bill not paid is the disputed amount, explaining the town should be billed for whichever is greater: the usage charge or the monthly minimum, but not both.
A consultant for CWCWD said that was a rate calculation from before a new one took effect in 2010.
In the meantime, residents like Janich are feeling the impacts of the disagreement.
"Do you feel like your your bills are increasing in an effort for them to pay off their bill?" Denver7 asked her.
"That is a good question. We're looking into that. Yeah, mine went up by 13%," Janich replied.
CWCWD also said it lowered the water pressure across the town to help with protecting infrastructure and keep up with water demand, which it said impacts costs.
