The monthly water bill for a Ski Ranches home comes from the Town of Mountain Village. Ski Ranches is not part of that town. It is an unincorporated subdivision of San Miguel County on Mountain Village's border, and its owners are not Mountain Village voters. Even so, the Town runs the pipes, sets the rates, and decides the watering days.
The terms behind that bill are being reworked right now. Town staff and the Ski Ranches board are trading redlines on a water service agreement covering rates, capital spending and operations. The Town wants it in front of Council before the end of 2026. Anyone buying in Ski Ranches this winter is buying into a utility relationship whose price has not been settled.
What a Ski Ranches Water Bill Looks Like in 2026
The Town provides water to Ski Ranches and to Skyfield across Highway 145. Its sewer service covers Mountain Village residences only, so Ski Ranches homes run on septic systems. Each Ski Ranches home therefore buys water and nothing else from the Town, at a rate table the Town keeps separate from its own residents'.
The 2026 fee schedule Mountain Village Town Council adopted on November 20, 2025 puts the two tables next to each other:
| 2026 single-family charge | Ski Ranches | Mountain Village |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly water base rate | $211.18 | $91.10 |
| Monthly sewer base rate | None, homes are on septic | $91.10 plus a $10.50 surcharge |
| First overage tier, per 1,000 gallons | $10.35 | $6.90 |
| Top tier, above 40,000 gallons | $34.50 | $22.99 |
| Tap fee | $21,650, water only | $43,300, water and sewer |
| Tap fee per extra 500 sq. ft. over 3,000 | $4,330 | $8,660 |
Both tables give the same base allowance: 8,000 gallons a month from October through May and 14,000 gallons from June through September. The base charge is where they split. A Ski Ranches home pays about 2.3 times the Mountain Village water base, or $2,534.16 a year against $1,093.20. The Ski Ranches water-only base is even higher than the combined water and sewer base a Mountain Village home pays, which comes to $192.70 a month once the surcharge is included. Past the base allowance, every Ski Ranches tier costs roughly half again as much as the matching Mountain Village tier.
Why Ski Ranches Pays More for the Same Water
The rate gap goes back to how the system came about. The Town's 2024 water and sewer capital reserve study says Ski Ranches first drew its drinking water from wells. A metro district formed in 1982, and in 2007 the Town of Mountain Village took over that district's infrastructure along with responsibility for water service. Most of the system was built in the 1970s and between 1986 and 1996.
So the Town inherited an older distribution network serving a community outside its boundaries. The same study says Ski Ranches and Skyfield get their water through the Town's system, and that Ski Ranches tap fees were historically set at half the Town's tap fee as a buy-in to existing infrastructure. SGM, the study's engineers, used that 50% share again when modeling replacement costs and described it as a contribution toward replacing aging infrastructure.
That gives you the logic of the 2026 table. A new Ski Ranches home pays a smaller tap fee to connect, then a larger monthly base for as long as it draws water. The cost of owning an aging system gets recovered over time through the monthly bill. That matters most to a buyer planning to hold for decades.
Land buyers face a different starting point. The Ski Ranches table lists vacant lots at no charge. Skyfield vacant lots pay $52.50 a month until a meter goes in. On a Ski Ranches homesite, the water costs begin when you build, with the tap fee and then the base rate. Both of those numbers are what the current negotiation covers.
The Agreement in Redlines
The talks started this summer. Town staff wrote this in the July 16, 2026 Council packet:
"Lizbeth, Scott Pittenger, Michelle and Harvey met with the Ski Ranches board and volunteers regarding the ski ranches water system upgrades. We intend to undertake a water rate study and work through an agreement this fall related to water rates, capital expenditures and operations."
The August 20 packet said the two sides had kept talking about "rates, infrastructure, and service," with the goal of finishing a rate study and signing an agreement "ideally by January of 2027." The October 15 department report moved the target earlier, to Council review before year-end. It also reversed the order: an SGM Engineering water study now "will follow the agreement."
That reversal is the key detail for a buyer. If the agreement comes first and the study second, the framework for rates and capital sharing gets set before the engineering numbers that may later fill it in.
Council has also appointed a Ski Ranches Working Group, and its updates appear among the board reports on Council agendas. The Town Council page lists the next two regular meetings for November 19 and December 10, 2026. Neither listing names the agreement as an agenda item yet.
What the 2027 Budget Already Assumes
While the agreement is pending, the Town's draft 2027 budget, dated October 2, 2026, says 2027 water rates "reflect an inflationary increase of 3.0%" under the rate study adopted in November 2023. It adds that rates may change once Council reviews and adopts the updated study. The increase for 2026 was 4.76%, also set under the 2023 study. No 2027 rate table has been published yet, so the 3% is a budget assumption and not a rate.
The Ski Ranches figures in that October 7 special meeting packet show what the Town expects from the neighborhood:
- Ski Ranches water revenue: $452,471 forecast for 2026 and $465,078 proposed for 2027, with base fees rising 3.0% to $432,844
- "Ski Ranches Capital": $335,000 in both the 2026 forecast and the 2027 budget
- Ski Ranches capital contributions: $660,643 in 2025 actuals, with none budgeted for 2026 or 2027
- Ski Ranches tap fees: $5,000 forecast for 2027
The capital spending is already visible on the ground. In its August report, the Town said the Ski Ranches waterline project was complete and that a new loop had significantly improved redundancy and fire flows in the system. The July report had said the work was ahead of schedule. The agreement under negotiation is meant to decide how costs like these are shared from here on.
Rules Made Next Door
The same arrangement covers how much water a Ski Ranches home can use, as well as what it costs. Mountain Village's 2026 conservation program, effective Monday, March 30, 2026, named Ski Ranches directly. It assigned the neighborhood Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday for outdoor watering, set irrigation at 70 to 75% of normal, and limited watering to before 8 a.m. or after 7 p.m. The Town warned that tighter limits could follow if the San Miguel River came under administration. By July, staff were describing low river flows and an expected call.
The summer schedule a Ski Ranches owner follows for a lawn or garden is set by Town staff and announced on the Mountain Village website. It is not a Ski Ranches HOA decision. Owners have a say through the Ski Ranches board's negotiations with the Town, not through Town elections.
Questions to Add to a Ski Ranches Due Diligence List
For a buyer comparing Ski Ranches with Mountain Village, the water bill is one of the costs of sitting outside the town line. These questions help you price it:
- Twelve months of actual water bills from the seller. The base rate is fixed. Summer overage at Ski Ranches tier prices is where the bills differ from home to home.
- Recent Ski Ranches HOA communications about the agreement. The board is the party negotiating on rates, capital and operations.
- The adopted 2027 fee schedule, once Council approves it. In 2025, the 2026 schedule was adopted at the November meeting. Check whether the 2027 table matches the 3% budget assumption.
- Your tap fee figure for a lot or major addition. Price it from the current Town fee schedule, including the per-500-square-foot charge above 3,000 square feet, and plan for a possible change.
- Septic records for the property, because no Town sewer line will ever replace the system.
FAQ
Can Ski Ranches homes connect to Mountain Village sewer? The Town's water and sewer page says Mountain Village supplies Ski Ranches with water only. Its 2024 reserve study says the Town's wastewater service covers Mountain Village residences only and that Ski Ranches and Skyfield are on septic.
Will Ski Ranches water rates go up in 2027? The draft 2027 budget assumes a 3.0% increase and says rates could change after the updated study is adopted. The adopted fee resolution will be the final word.
Is the Ski Ranches HOA the water provider? No. The Town has owned and managed the infrastructure since taking it over in 2007. The HOA board negotiates with the Town on behalf of the neighborhood.
This post is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Confirm the rates, fees and agreement terms that apply to a specific property with the Town of Mountain Village and the right professionals.
If you are weighing a Ski Ranches home or homesite while this agreement is still open, Hilbert Homes can help you put the water bill, the tap fee and the pending terms alongside the purchase price before you write an offer. Request a personal consultation and free home valuation, and we'll follow the November 19 and December 10 Council meetings with you.
