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analysis with the help of Carter Burgess in 2005 and 2006. This is leading to a integrated control <br />system and an entirely new irrigation distribution system being installed in 2007. They <br />anticipate a 15% demand reduction from these steps alone. ASC was not able to incorporate a <br />lot of landscaping changes in this phase of the project due to the source of funds, but have <br />produced conceptual designs for future improvements which could generate another 20% or <br />more in water savings. The City was fortunate in that ASC has shared their study with us which <br />will help in our future irrigation planning. <br />The school district high school and middle schools are the biggest water consumers. Just a <br />casual examination of their use patterns, with almost 70% of their use coming in the irrigation <br />season, during much of which the schools are closed, makes it clear that the largest potential <br />savings are for that irrigation use. While we have never conducted a water audit for the district, <br />this should be a priority. We have been involved in the initial studies for a new combined <br />elementary school and are in full agreement that a green building process to include water <br />conservation will be a priority. <br />The other major use groups that we have not examined in detail are our restaurant customers. <br />Two of them are in our top 20 users. An audit of their use may well indicate water savings <br />opportunities across the use group. We will be able to distribute this information to like users <br />through direct mailings. <br />Water Reuse Systems <br />The City originally considered treating wastewater for irrigation needs as part of the 1993 Agro <br />Engineering evaluation of our water rights and conducted a more detail study in 1999 <br />(Conceptual Design Report — Wastewater Reuse, Richard P. Arber Associates, May, 1999). The <br />overall findings were that while it was certainly technically feasible and probably affordable over <br />time, it would not truly "save" water, and was in fact, probably not possible under our water <br />decrees. Trans - mountain water can be used to extinction. Our water comes from the San Luis <br />Valley confined aquifer and does not fall under these rules. In fact, our wastewater treatment <br />plant effluent contributes to the delivery requirements under the Rio Grande compact. Even if <br />we could use our water to extinction that would mean that the effluent no longer being returned <br />to the Rio Grande would have to be replaced by another source. <br />Distribution System Leak ID and Repair. <br />While we have not had a formal distribution leak identification and repair program in place we <br />have been looking at the amount of water billed versus the amount produced annually and <br />focused on major changes to identify the reasons. The difference has generally been within the <br />margins of meter accuracy so this was not seen as a major problem. Our lines are relatively <br />shallow (5' to 6' bury) which means that major leaks become apparent quickly. We have also <br />been systematically replacing our oldest lines which are cast iron over the past ten years, <br />budgeting $200,000 to $250,000 per year for this purpose. Once we complete this phase we will <br />move into the AC line replacement phase. This program was suspended in 2006 through 2008 <br />because of the major capital demands placed on us by the design and construction of our new <br />water treatment plant and the raw water collection and finished water distribution lines necessary <br />to make that work. This program will be re- instituted in 2009. We will also add a leak detection <br />City of Alamosa I Water Conservation Plan I May 2007 1 Page 16 of 29 <br />