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<br />Figure 1 - Conservation Goal <br />39,400 AF Goal <br /> <br />Rates <br />10-Year <br />Conservation <br />Plan <br />Permanent <br />Savings <br />Occasioned by <br />the Drought <br /> <br />4,400 AF <br /> <br />25,000 AF <br /> <br />10,000 AF <br /> <br />The Board of Water Commissioners approved a new inclining block rate structure <br />which became effective January, 1, 2007. The blocks are more steeply inclining <br />than previous blocks at Denver Water. The goal for implementing this rate <br />structure was to help eliminate water waste and encourage more conservation. <br />The Board will evaluate the effects of the 2007 rate structure and make <br />adjustments in the years ahead as they deem necessary. <br /> <br />Impacts of Drought on Future Savings <br /> <br />Beginning in 2002, water use has been substantially reduced from historic levels <br />by drought conditions and Denver Water's drought response measures. Those <br />measures included mandatory water use restrictions and drought surcharges. <br /> <br />The average use between 1993 and 2001 was 211 GCD. The average use <br />between 2002 and 2004 was 169 GCD, which is a 20 percent decrease from the <br />pre-drought levels. In 2005, Denver Water's reservoirs began to recover from <br />the drought and mandatory drought restrictions were lifted. Water use in 2005 <br />increased 12 percent to 163 GCD compared to 2004 water use of 150 GCD due <br />to the removal of mandatory restrictions and a hotter and drier summer. <br /> <br />Staff cannot fully determine what level of water use reductions achieved during <br />the drought is durable. Two recent studies suggest there may be at least a <br />partial return to pre-drought use without additional measures taken by the Board. <br />Denver Water polled other water providers in the West during the drought. The <br />results showed other utilities had seen a rebound in use in the years after a <br /> <br />9 <br />