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<br />Denver Water provides some water to districts or municipalities through fixed- <br />amount contracts. For most of these entities, Denver Water's contract provides <br />only a small component of their water portfolio. Conservation by these <br />customers would not reduce Denver Water's delivery obligation under the <br />contract. Most contracts contain a provision stating that the conservation plan, or <br />some reasonably similar effort, applies to the water leased from the Board. <br />Because changes in the Board's conservation plan would be applicable to only a <br />portion of an entity's water supply, it is not possible to determine the impact of <br />such changes on the behavior of the entity. Staff would need to work with fixed- <br />amount contractors individually to determine the effect of modifications to the <br />conservation plan. <br /> <br />In the fall of 2006, staff contacted everyone of the Fixed Contract customers <br />requesting a copy of their conservation plans. Of those who responded to the <br />letter and/or to a subsequent phone call, six entities had conservation plans. <br />More work is needed here. <br /> <br />Three-Days-Per-Week Watering Restriction <br /> <br />Many people have questioned the efficacy of saving water with a three-days-per- <br />week watering restriction. Historically, water providers have used a three-day <br />restriction to reduce the peak days during the irrigation season due to treatment <br />plant capacity issues. A three-day restriction is effective for reducing the peak <br />days; however, no studies show conclusively that a three-day restriction will <br />reduce the total amount of water use. <br /> <br />Staff believes that a three-day restriction will not inherently reduce water use. It <br />is the message accompanying the restriction that is the driving factor. A strong <br />conservation message such as the Board's "never more than three days," and <br />"Use Only What You Need" should help to keep water use low. Staff has <br />partnered with the City of Aurora to continue to study this issue. Aurora is on a <br />mandatory three-days-per-week water restriction; therefore, the comparison <br />between the two cities should be informative. <br /> <br />Research, Monitoring and Evaluation <br /> <br />Although monitoring and evaluation of conservation measures has occurred in <br />the past, there is now a well-defined effort with staffing, budget and goals set. <br />Monitoring of results achieved and evaluation of programs will be done by the <br />General Planning Section of the Planning Division. The General Planning staff <br />will act as a set of checks and balances for the Conservation Section staff. Both <br />groups will cooperate with the Community Relations staff in producing an annual <br />report of progress to the Board. General Planning and Conservation will produce <br />quarterly updates for the Board and executive staff listing both activities and <br />water savings. <br /> <br />25 <br />