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<br />~ <br /> <br />Mr. John Van Sciver <br /> <br />Page 3 <br />February 8, 1995 <br /> <br />Though a simple solution to Fort Lupton's high per capita <br />consumption rate would appear to be charge a high rate for water and go <br />on meters almost immediately, it is the City's belief that such an <br />approach is poor public policy, and that the City has a responsibility <br />to educate its water customers concerning usage and conservation before <br />requiring them to pay for a service they have always taken for granted. <br />This education program will not happen overnight, and we ask CWCB to <br />consider the public policy issues, not just technical issues, that are <br />involved with going to metered water rates in a community that has <br />always been provided water based on a flat rate charge. We consider <br />this matter to be one of our biggest challenges and we are aggressively <br />addressing it. <br /> <br />We also agree with Black & Veatch's January 16, 1995 letter that <br />advised you that going to metered rates too soon could harm the <br />financial stability of the City's water enterprise. Fort Lupton has <br />developed initial metered water rates based on a number of assumptions, <br />including actual usage and system losses, as well as commercial and <br />light industrial uses. Fort Lupton has never had data to confirm the <br />assumptions that have been used to develop rates. While we believe that <br />the assumptions that have been used to date are reasonable, if we go to <br />metered rates without any historical data, we run the risk of generating <br />insufficient revenues to cover debt service and operation and <br />maintenance expenses. We could raise the rates to an artificially high <br />level to guarantee sufficient revenues, put an unfair burden on our <br />water customers, collect data, and adjust rates again later, but the <br />City believes such a strategy is not prudent public policy and is not in <br />the best interests of the City, particularly when you consider the <br />current lack of public knowledge about water usage. <br /> <br />You should also be aware that the aquifer recharge and <br />augmentation program the City is developing is still a year or more from <br />actual implementation. We believe this project will help guarantee firm <br />yields from our wells and help offset the effects of the drought that <br />has lowered the water table in the South Platte River alluvium. <br /> <br />In summary, we agree that if the new proposed wells were only <br />going to be used for a year or two and then discarded, unpopular public <br />policy might outweigh the benefits of additional debt to install new <br />wells. However, considering that Fort Lupton is planning for and <br />managing growth and is pursuing projects that, while requiring water, <br />will enhance the quality of life for all residents in Fort Lupton, new <br />water wells are a good investment for the City, especially when one <br />considers the extremely poor condition our existing well screens and <br />casings are in. We hope the Board recognizes that the City is <br />undertaking many water-related issues concurrently to better manage and <br />optimize its water resources. While all answers to all questions <br />