If you’re a Northern Colorado resident, you may be surprised to learn that the water flowing from your taps might not be provided by your city. There are actually a number of water suppliers in the area, including the City of Fort Collins, East Larimer County Water District, Loveland Water and Power, and North Weld County Water District. Your particular supplier is dependent on the location of your home, meaning there’s no need to shop around for rates or providers.
While you don’t have to choose your supplier, knowing who delivers your water is incredibly important—if you ever have an issue with your water or your bill, you’ll want to know who to contact.
In this guide, we’ll discuss how and why water is divvied up among different utility providers, detail some easy solutions for finding out who your provider is, and share some helpful tips for staying in the know about your water.
Why Are There Different Water Providers in Northern Colorado?
Water is a precious and finite resource. Regardless of where you live, our dependence on access to clean water is shared. Water in Northern Colorado is a complex system with many stakeholders. While all water providers are working within this larger system, whether they’re a municipality or special district, all providers set their own rates, have different treatment and distribution infrastructure, are managed by their own staff and governance (whether that’s an elected board of directors or city officials) and maintain their own water portfolios (i.e. their rights in various sources and reservoirs) ultimately acting in the interests of their missions and customers.
The Fort Collins — Loveland Water District (FCLWD) is a registered special district formed under the Colorado General Assembly’s statute Title 32. The act acknowledges the need for specialized management of public utilities in order to meet localized demand for water service. It also sets ground rules for non-governmental organizations that operate in:
- Fire protection
- Forestry improvement
- Health services
- Transportation
- Television and radio broadcasting
- Sanitation
- Water distribution
- Other utilities that are traditionally supplied by government entities
As a special district, FCLWD is subject to every line of Title 32’s rules and regulations and is governed by an elected five-member Board of Directors. Our board is responsible for providing fiduciary oversight for all District operations, staff and projects as well as guiding the future of water for our customers, present and future to ensure your drinking supply is safe and secure.
Water is an essential resource and we believe all customers should have access to safe, affordable water, furthermore, we believe that future customers within our planned service boundary should be able to purchase treated potable water for their property. Title 32 gives us a solid framework to base our own organizational rules and regulations off of, and we’re proud to work alongside local governments to ensure our ongoing compliance.
How Can I Find Out Who My Water Provider Is?
There are a number of water providers in the Northern Colorado area. As mentioned, your address will determine which one you get your water from.
To find out exactly who keeps the taps flowing in your home, you can:
- Use our interactive map – FCLWD created a handy interactive district map to help Northern Colorado residents learn whether they’re in our service area. Simply input your Fort Collins, Windsor, Timnath, Loveland, or Larimer County address and, if your home falls within the highlighted blue zone, you’ll know FCLWD is your water supplier. If, however, your home is outside these cities or not within our service area, you may need to take an alternate approach to discovering your provider.
- Check your bill – If you get regular paper bills in the mail, check the letterhead—the name of your supplier should be listed somewhere near the top of every invoice. If you’ve gone paperless and pay for your services entirely online, take note of your eBill, the webpage you visit, or the merchant charging your card.
Why Is It Important for Me to Know My Supplier?
Knowing who delivers your water and who to contact about your supply and account is crucial for billing and in case of emergencies. You’ll want to find and remember the name of your supplier to:
- Let them know if something’s wrong – If there’s an issue with your supply, such as an external line that’s broken or leaking, your water supplier is required to fix it. Before they can, however, you’ll have to contact the right provider to let them know there’s an issue.
- Suspend your service – In case of major leaks to your internal plumbing, it may be a smart idea to pause your water supply. To do so, simply find your supplier’s contact information, and let them know you need your service shut off.
- Handle billing issues – Knowing your supplier’s name can help you ensure you’re not getting any fraudulent charges from dubious actors posing as public utilities. It’ll also give you someone to contact in case your bill seems wrong, is missing, or has other issues.
- Learn more about your water – As an FCLWD customer, you can rest assured that you’re receiving a safe, dependable supply of drinking water. However, it is your right to have access to your water quality report. Furthermore, in the case of an outage or water restrictions, it’s important to know who is supplying your water and if you are impacted by the outage or subject to the restriction.
What to Do After Learning Who Your Supplier Is
You’ll probably want to keep your supplier’s number handy in case of emergencies, so consider putting it on a sticky note on your fridge or adding it to your phone’s contacts. You can also stop by the office to pick up a fridge magnet with our contact information on it for easy reference. If you’re an FCLWD customer, you can dial (970)-226-3104 to contact us about your account or our services 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
If it’s not an emergency and email is more your style, you can also use this handy contact form to get in touch with questions and concerns. You can also email the front desk with general inquiries at FrontDesk@FCLWD.com or the billing department for payment queries at Billing@FCLWD.com.
Regardless of who your supplier is, consider subscribing to their social media pages and email list to stay in the know about your district’s news and services. If you’re in the FCLWD, that means following us on Facebook to get the latest flow of info. You can also sign up and add your email address to ensure you receive our quarterly eNewsletter.
Whether we’re your water provider or it’s another district or municipality altogether, take the time to learn who provides your water and how to get in touch with them—doing so can make a world of difference in case of leaks or billing issues.
