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<br />Water record calculations: In order to analyze the effectiveness of Slow the Flow <br />Colorado, it was necessary to isolate outdoor water usage from the yearly totals. The <br />overwhelming majority of residential properties are not provided with a separate <br />irrigation tap and metered account. Instead, the resident has a general "water" tap and <br />meter that accounts for all water usage. However, it is Imown that outdoor irrigation <br />would most likely occur during the growing season of a commonly utilized grass <br />(Kentucky Bluegrass) which accounts for the majority of water usage during that period. <br />The growing season for cool season grasses such as Kentucl<y Bluegrass is May through <br />September. <br /> <br />For the majority of the properties, 12 months of data was available for each year <br />analyzed (except for the 1 st year the property was built and 2006, since the data was <br />collected before the end of the year). <br /> <br />Yearly totals were calculated as: <br />Total # of Gallons in year XXXX == Sum (Jan-Dec Gallons) <br /> <br />In order to determine average indoor water usage, the number of gallons used in the non- <br />growing season months (January-April and October-December) was averaged and then <br />multiplied by 12, resulting in the total number of indoor gallons used during a specific <br />year: <br />Total # of Indoor Gallons in Year XXXX == Avg(Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, Oct, Nov, Dec) * 12 <br /> <br />In order to calculate the total number of outdoor gallons used, it was necessary to deduct <br />indoor usage during the growing season: <br />Total # of Outdoor Gallons in Year XXXX == (Total # of Gallons in year XXXX) - (Total <br /># of Indoor Gallons in Year XXXX) <br /> <br />In some instances, properties did not have 12 months worth of data for the year being <br />analyzed. If one or more of the months included in the growing season (May-Sept) was <br />not available, then the data for that year could not be used. However, in the event that <br />data for the growing season was complete, and if at least one month outside of the <br />growing season was available, then it was possible to estimate indoor and outdoor water <br />usage for that year. <br /> <br />Total Gallons in Year XXXX == Avg((non-growing season months with available data i.e. <br />Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, Oct, Nov, Dec)*12) + (Sum of growing season months i.e. May- <br />Sept) <br /> <br />Evapotranspiration (ET): is the most important factor to consider when determining how <br />much water a plant needs. Historically, Bluegrass along the Colorado Front Range <br />requires 27" of water during the growing season. However, to compare water usage from <br />one year to another, it was necessary to use the ET from each year that would be included <br />in the analysis, which was: 2003,2004,2005, and 2006. Only two of the five weather <br />stations had sufficient data. These weather stations were: Boulder Southwest and <br />Longmont South. According to the NCWCD, both of these weather stations were well <br /> <br />21 <br />