06b

• Board Meeting Date: 9/18/2007
• Description: OWCDP Section - Water Efficiency Grant Request from Green Industries of Colorado
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

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In 2004, they launched a training program, which was made available to field professionals. It
encouraged actual implementation of the BMPs identified within the manual. The total cost of
project was $107,440, which was made possible through a grant from the Colorado Department
of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) Water Quality Control Division (under a grant from
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) with additional funding suppOli from the Govemor's
Office of Energy Management and Conservation, Colorado Water Conservation Board, CDPHE
Non-Point Source Program and CDPHE Pollution Prevention Partnership. CWCB's total
contribution was $55,000.

Currently, GreenCO's BMP manual, training program and scientific fact-sheets, focusing on all
aspects of landscape design, installation, and maintenance, are available to the industry and other
key stakeholders concemed with water conservation and water quality in Colorado. As a result
of this on-going project, GreenCO recognizes that water conservation is largely dependent on
behavioral change, based in tum on strong educational and outreach effOlis. Therefore,
expansion and reinforcement of GreenCO's water conservation message is needed to meet long-
term water conservation objectives.

In August 2007, GreenCO's Board determined that a third phase of its BMP project was
appropriate to revise existing BMPs, add more technical substance, and begin identifying new
practices to correlate with the with the "green movement" (also addressing issues such as
sustainability, energy, reuse, recycling, altemative fuels, and transpOliation, among others). The
purpose of this BMP expansion project is to keep the program up-to-date with the newest BMPs
and the most current industry standards, as well as develop a tool for the CWCB to enable local
govemments and water providers to integrate the revised GreenCO BMPs into their own training
effOlis and water conservation plans to ensure more water savings statewide.

Green CO is requesting $72,433 from the Water Efficiency Grant Program to build upon the
ongoing success of the program to reach not only its industry, but also a wide array of affected
patiies and stakeholders, such as covered entities, that are required to develop conservation plans
in accordance with 937-60-126 C.R.S. In addition, GreenCO has committed to patiicipate in
future CWCB water conservation workshops throughout the State to target water providers, by
educating them on and providing them with a repackaged set of BMPs that will compliment a
water conservation plan. The applicant has demonstrated a total matching contribution of
$24,100. This represents 25% of the total project budget.

Recommendation:
The OWCDP recommends that the Board award a Water Efficiency Grant in the amount of
$72,433 to GreenCO to aid in achieving their goal to enhance and expand existing GreenCO
water conservation BMPs in order to promote landscape water conservation in Colorado, both
within the green industry and among water providers and local govemments.

Attachments

. GreenCO Grant Application (including scope of work & project budget).
. Letters of support and matching contributions from patinering cities.
. Application evaluation criteria ranking sheet, scored by the OWCDP.

Flood Protection. Water Project Planning and Finance. Stream and Lake Protection
Water Supply Protection. Conservation Planning