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<br />are making progress on water conservation. The other metric is to measure <br />unaccounted for water loss due to system leakage. By having these metrics in <br />place, Denver Water will be able to benchmark its own efforts more effectively. <br /> <br />Conclusions <br /> <br />The Tap-Smart Conservation Master Plan is the fourth revision of Denver Water's <br />Conservation Master Plan since 1979. Water Conservation has been an ongoing <br />effort at Denver Water since 1910. In 1979, the conservation effort was <br />increased, and the result was the harvest of low-hanging fruit over the next 20 <br />years. Appendix B contains the history of Denver Water's conservation programs <br />from 1910 to 1999, and a list of current measures. The drought of 2002 to 2004 <br />heightened awareness of customers and staff of the need to maintain <br />conservation savings. In 2005 as a result of the Board's direction, the <br />Conservation program was accelerated even more. Appendix C contains the <br />background and research on selecting the measures for the Tap-Smart Plan. <br /> <br />The sample Tap-Smart Plan in Appendix D has been designed to capture and <br />sustain water use reductions that would bring system-wide customer use down to <br />165 GCD. This is equivalent to the conservation goal stated in the 2002 IRP. <br />The IRP conservation goal in the 2002 report has two components: 57 percent of <br />the savings are passive - requiring no effort from Denver Water - from natural <br />replacement of indoor water use fixtures, and 43 percent comes from active <br />conservation programs. <br /> <br />To achieve sustained water use of 165 GCD with a decade of effort, Denver <br />Water will have to accelerate the replacement of high volume toilets, <br />showerheads, and faucets to more efficient fixtures that otherwise would have <br />been replaced naturally. Staff has concluded that the desired acceleration of <br />natural replacement savings cannot be achieved through current conservation <br />measures. Regulatory measures or rebates that pay a high percentage of the <br />cost of water fixtures are necessary to achieve the savings within ten years. <br /> <br />There are many perspectives on the reasons to conserve water. People are <br />motivated by different values at different times in their lives. Economic costs are <br />just one of the reasons to conserve water. Some of the other reasons to <br />conserve are shown in the pamphlet, "Why Conserve?" developed for the Board <br />and included in Appendix G. <br /> <br />Historic Savings <br /> <br />Historic savings, prior to 2001, resulted in part from educational and informational <br />conservation measures. These measures will have to continue if Denver Water <br />is to maintain the historic savings. It is unclear whether further savings can be <br />achieved through these types of measures. However, staff recommends that the <br /> <br />27 <br />