DenverWaterConservationPlan

• Project Type: Water Conservation Plan
• Applicant: Denver Water
• Project Name: Denver Water Water Conservation Plan
• Title: Tap-Smart: The Conservation Master Plan
• Date: 4/30/2007
• County: Denver
• Water Conservation - Doc Type: Complete Plan

Block 1

o - 15,000

o - 30,000

$1.95

Block 2

Over 15,000

Over 30,000

$2.34

Monthly usage amount increases by 6,000 gallons and bimonthly usage amount increases
by 12,000 gallons per additional dwelling unit up to five (5) dwelling units.

All Other Customers:

Winter

$1.89

Summer

$2.27

Along with these rates, the Board has a significant System Development Charge
(SDC) or hook-up fee to make sure that growth pays its own way. The SDC is
different for customers depending upon their predicted water use. All these
financial incentives serve to encourage wise water use.

One aspect of the 2007 Rates schedule that needed more research was the
potential impact on Home Owner Associations (HOAs) that irrigate common
areas through an irrigation-only or single-family residential tap. There were some
inequities identified in the plumbing and irrigation systems of these HOAs, so
Conservation staff was assigned to contact over 240 of these groups and get the
facts. This effort will be at least a two-year project. It will involve performing an
irrigation audit, diagnosing water savings potentials indoors, locating all meters
and taps associated with each account, and then offering various types of
assistance to the HOA to achieve water savings. This HOA task was not part of
the Tap-Smart Plan specifically, but has become the major focus of the Personal
Water Consultant initiative to contact the highest-water-using customers. The
expected outcome is that HOAs will improve their irrigation efficiency thus saving
both water and money, and Denver Water will improve the accuracy of its
records and the fairness in billing for these customers.

Final List of Selected Measures

After filtering over 480 measures down to two dozen that fit the criteria, the
measures were apportioned into seven categories:

· City and County of Denver government programs, which includes irrigation
practices, upgrades of fixtures and devices, and other activities to be
determined after engineering analysis of potential water savings;
· Education and Outreach, which includes publications, demonstration
gardens, the schools program, and presentations;
· Diagnostics, which includes conservation audits of indoor and outdoor
water uses for residential, commercial and governmental customers;

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