The Pikes Peak Badger

Colorado Springs Utilities proposes water-damage aid for some homeowners

The draft would offer discretionary assistance to qualifying owner-occupied homes damaged by certain utility failures when Utilities is not legally liable.

El Paso County
A diagram in Colorado Springs Utilities’ proposal compares the final-assistance process with an immediate-assistance path offering up to $20,000 for mitigation. The diagram lists up to $100,000 in final assistance; the packet’s sample agreement gives a different per-incident maximum, which the article explains remains unresolved.
A diagram in Colorado Springs Utilities’ proposal compares the final-assistance process with an immediate-assistance path offering up to $20,000 for mitigation. The diagram lists up to $100,000 in final assistance; the packet’s sample agreement gives a different per-incident maximum, which the article explains remains unresolved.

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Colorado Springs Utilities is proposing assistance for some homeowners whose properties are damaged by certain utility main-line stoppages or water-main failures. The Utilities Board Working Committee is scheduled to review the proposal Oct. 19; it is not an approved program, the agenda packet and draft materials show.

The draft covers owner-occupied, single-unit homes when Utilities is not legally liable. It outlines up to $20,000 in immediate assistance and proposes an annual program-funding cap of $1 million, subject to available and appropriated funding.

Assistance would be discretionary, not guaranteed. Owners would need to contact their homeowners insurer to determine coverage, file a claim with the City and follow the City Claims Department’s procedures. Insurance would be primary for covered losses, and applicants would have to sign a release before receiving assistance. Immediate aid would require a separate agreement, with recipients given six months to meet the other program requirements.

The proposal excludes rental properties; damage to or caused by a customer-owned service line; damage caused by an owner’s negligence or intentional actions; and damage related to specified catastrophic events, including major floods, terrorism or war. Immediate assistance would also exclude damage caused by residents’ negligent or intentional acts.

The draft policy and presentation set a maximum of $100,000 per residence per incident, while the attached sample agreement says $50,000; the materials do not reconcile the difference.