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<br />CWCB Water Conservation Planning Grant Application <br /> <br />City of Rifle <br /> <br />1.0 INTRODUCTION & APPLICANT ELIGIBILITY <br /> <br />1.1 City of Rifle and Water System Background <br /> <br />The City of Rifle (City) is an existing home rule city, municipal corporation and political <br />subdivision under the provisions of Article XX of the Constitution of the State of <br />Colorado and the City's Home Rule Charter. The City is governed by an elected seven- <br />member council and managed by a City Manager hired .by the council. Rifle was <br />incorporated in 1905. <br /> <br />The City is located in western Garfield County~ approximately 57 miles east of Grand <br />Junction along Interstate 70. The City sits at an elevation of approximately 5,400 feet. In <br />the context of statewide water resources planning, the November 2004 Statewide Water <br />Supply Initiative (SWSI) Phase 1 Report identifies Rifle as being in the Colorado River <br />Basin. The SWSI Phase 1 Report projects the Colorado Basin to have: <br />o the highest population growth rate (99%) of the eight major river basins over the <br />period 2000 to 2030 <br />o a gross water demand increase over the period of 61 ,900 ac-ft/yr (3rd out of 8) <br />o a projected M&I and SSI demand "gap" of 5% (3,000 ac-ft/yr). <br /> <br />Rifle has been experiencing rapid growth over the past several years, a trend fueled by <br />economic growth in the Roaring Fork and Colorado River valleys and rapid expansion of <br />oil and gas production in Garfield County. The City's population has been growing <br />recently at an annual rate between 5 and 6% and is currently estimated to exceed 8,700 <br />persons. Rifle's fast-paced growth is expected to continue for the foreseeable future as <br />anticipated in SWSI. It is important to note that explosive population and water demand <br />growth, beyond that projected by SWSI is possible; Rifle is located at the epi-center of <br />current oil shale extraction research and possible future full-scale commercial production. <br />SWSI did not consider potential future SSI water demands associated with oil shale <br />extraction that may be placed on the Colorado River and White River basins. Page 3-16 <br />of the SWSI report makes only a reference to a possible 450,000 ac-ft/yr water need to <br />support a 3 million barrel per day oil industry. <br /> <br />The City of Rifle owns and operates its own water and wastewater utilities. The City's <br />water system currently serves a total 00,191 customer accounts (89.5% residential, 8.4% <br />commercial/industrial, 2.0% government, 0.1 % sprinkler irrigation). The City also <br />provides non-potable irrigation water to a couple of City parks. The City of Rifle <br />currently has no water conservation program. The City also completed a Water Master <br />Plan in 2006, which forecasted water infrastructure needs assuming no significant <br />conservation. Based on its current lack of a water conservation program, its rapid growth <br />rate, and existing infrastructure projections, the City is well-positioned for developing a <br />conservation plan that could achieve meaningful water and cost savings. <br /> <br />1.2 Eligibility <br /> <br />Because its total annual water deliveries fall short of the annual 2,000 acre-foot criterion, <br />the City of Rifle is not currently characterized as a "covered entity" as defined by Section <br />37-60-126 (6) of the Colorado Revised Statutes. However, as Section 2.4 indicates, <br />based on reasonable growth and demand projections, the City may meet this criterion <br />within the next 1 to 2 years. <br /> <br />SGM # 99055A-387 <br /> <br />1-1 <br /> <br />Section 1.0 - Intro. & Eligibility <br />