BOARD00164 ‎(2)‎

• Board Meeting Date: 5/22/2007
• Description: OWCDP Section - Presentation by the Center for Resource Conservation - Impacts and Findings of the Slow the Flow Colorado Irrigation Inspection Program
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

,.A{

...

STATE OF COLORADO

.

Colorado Water Conservation Board

Department of Natural Resources
1313 Sherman Street, Room 721
Denver, Colorado 80203
Phone: [phone]
FAX: [phone]
www.cwcb.state.co.us

MEMORANDUM

Bill Ritter, Jr.
Governor

Harris D. Sherman
Executive Director

TO:

Colorado Water Conservation Board Members

FROM:

Veva McCaig, Section Chief
Office of Water Conservation & Drought Planning (OWCDP)

Rod Kuharich
CWCB Director

Dan McAuliffe
Deputy Director

DATE:

May 22, 2007

SUBJECT:

Agenda Item 5 - Office of Water Conservation & Drought Planning Section
Presentation by the Center for Resource Conservation - "Impacts and Findings of the
Slow the Flow Colorado Irrigation Inspection Program" (CWCB Water Efficiency Grant
Funded Project)

.

Backl!round
On May 17,2006, the CWCB Board, at its meeting in Rocky Ford, CO, approved and awarded a Water Efficiency
Grant to the Center for Resource Conservation (CRC) in the amount of $77,290. The grant funded project included
conducting 2,000 irrigation audits during the 2006 summer and conducting, for the first time, a quantification of
actual water savings that could be directly attributed to the irrigation audit program.

The CRC is a non-profit agency located in Boulder, CO whose primary purpose is to promote resource
conservation. Through the Slow the Flow Colorado program, which partners with municipalities, CRC provides
irrigation system efficiency assessments, at no charge, to residents, homeowners associations, and the commercial
sector. In 2006, the Slow the Flow Colorado program offered 2,000 irrigation audits to the following
municipalities: Aurora, Boulder, Longmont, Thornton, Erie, Lafayette, Westminster, Greeley, and Golden. The
audits assess irrigation systems and provide information and data regarding water use strategies that should result in
reduced water consumption while meeting the desired goals of the property owner.

In addition to the audits, the Slow the Flow Colorado program conducted a study (Phase II) which analyzed historic
irrigation audit data to calculate actual water-savings that could be attributed to the audits, thereby supporting the
water conservation benefits from such a program. Through the Phase II study, the CRC undertook the task of
quantifying actual water savings that could be directly attributed to the program. The CRC analyzed data from the
2004 and 2005 irrigation audits using a statistical method to compare water use from pre and post irrigation audit
billing records. This study was a critical element of the proposed project because it is important to be able to
demonstrate quantifiable water savings from conservation programs in order to support their continuation.

Presentation
CRC staff will make a presentation to the CWCB Board of their findings and recommendations resulting from the
data collection and analysis performed in the Phase II study.

. Attachment
Executive Summary of the 2006 Final Report for the Slow the Flow Colorado Irrigation Inspection Program

Flood Protection. Water Supply Planning and Finance. Strearn and Lake Protection
Water Supply Protection. Conservation and Drought Planning