Greeley 1996 WCPlan

• Project Type: Water Conservation Plan
• Project Name: City of Greeley Water Conservation Plan
• Title: City of Greeley Water Conservation Technical ReportDecember 1994
• Date: 12/1/1994
• County: Weld
• Water Conservation - Doc Type: Complete Plan

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CI'IY OF GREELEY
DRAFT WATER CONSERVATION TECHNICAL REPORT
CHAPTER 1

INTRODUcnON AND EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Water is one of our most precious resources, and water conservation planning is a vital component
of water supply management for the City of Greeley's Water and Sewer Department (Department).
The overall purpose of this report is to provide a plan for expanding the City's current conservation
program and to integrate conservation planning with water and wastewater resources planning. This
chapter provides an introduction to the study and an overview of findings and conclusions.

INTRODUcnON

Conservation measures promoted by the City prior to this report include the following:

. Public education and information efforts.

. An ongoing universal metering program.

. Irrigation of City parks and open space with non-potable water.

. Ordinances promoting water efficiency and minimizing waste.

. Water resources planning to maximize the use of available wastewater return flows.

The City desires both to improve the existing measures and to develop and implement new
conservation measures. In addition, the City also falls under the jurisdiction of the Colorado Water
Conservation Act of 1991, and this conservation report will fulfill the initial reporting requirements
of the Act. Under the Colorado Water Conservation Act, all water-providing agencies that deliver
at least 2,000 acre-feet of water annually, using 1989 as a base year, are required to develop and
implement water conservation plans by July 1, 1996. The conservation plan shall encourage
domestic, commercial, and industrial users to use water more efficiently. Failure to comply with
the Colorado Water Conservation Act will negate the City's ability to acquire state funding grants
or loans for future water and wastewater public works projects.

In general, City of Greeley customers are relatively high water users. This is partially due to the
presence of agricultural industries served by the City's water system. In addition, residential use
is relatively high, with interior use averaging 200 gallons and exterior use averaging 308 gallons per
household per day. These factors underscore the potential for the City to conserve water and
extend future supplies.

Demographically, the City is growing, as are most of Colorado's Front Range communities. City
projections place growth at the rate of 1.4% per annum through 1995 and 1.1% per annum from
the beginning of 1996 through 1999. It is advantageous to develop and implement conservation
measures during periods of steady growth to reduce the impacts of increasing demands on water
supplies and water system infrastructure. During periods of no growth or declining populations,

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