Rademan added that asking residents to pay for those improvements is tough, considering the city has reduced its water use by about 30 percent since the start of its conservation campaign.

Eventually, Rademan said, the city hopes to be less reliant on tunnel water by importing other sources and storing more groundwater. City officials also are looking at alternative funding methods via state and federal grants, he said.

"Who knows whether we're going to look back 100 years from now and say that was ridiculous, why did we spend all that money?" he said. "No one is quite sure what the health risks are, and the old miners pooh-pooh it. The EPA doesn't, and certainly we don't either."

The city will host a public information session on the rate hike Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the Library and Education Center.

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E-mail: estewart@desnews.com