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Section 2 Conservation and Efficiency Technical Roundtable provide grant monies for water conservation and drought planning. The Water Efficiency Grant Program Fund offers financial assistance, in the form of grants, to covered entities that are preparing to develop or update their water conservation plans, ultimately resulting in more meaningful water conservation statewide. A covered entity is any municipality, agency, utility, public or private, with a legal obligation to supply, distribute, or otherwise provide water at retail to domestic, commercial, industrial, or public facility customers with a total annual demand of 2,000 AF or more. Please visit http://www.cwcb.state.co.us/conservation/ for more information about the grant program. 2.4.3 Financial Assistance for Implementation of Conservation Plans In 2005, the Colorado General Assembly continued in their efforts to promote the importance of water conservation in Colorado by passing the Water Efficiency Act of 2005, under HB 05-1254. The Water Efficiency Grant Program provides financial assistance to covered entities and qualifying agencies. A covered entity may use grant monies to aid in achieving the water conservation goals outlined in their locally adopted water conservation plan, whereas an agency may use grant monies to fund outreach and/or education aimed at demonstrating the benefits of water efficiency. In order for the state to realize some of the projected water savings expected from implementation of water conservation measures identified in the Question 2 matrix, water providers will need to implement their water conservation plans. Funding for the Water Efficiency Grant Programwill facilitate the implementation and penetration of these measures, thereby aiding those entities in their efforts to achieve their estimated water saving goals, but more importantly to reduce the projected statewide water supply shortages. Comprehensive and well targeted public education and outreach programs will be critical in penetrating consumer markets and achieving maximum savings. Please visit http://www.cwcb.state.co.us/conservation/ for more information about the grant program. 2.4.4 Regional Messaging and Public Outreach The OWCD already plays a vital role in supporting the effectiveness of local and regional public outreach and involvement efforts by providing technical support to water providers as they implement water conservation programs. However, the state's increased role in improving the public's understanding of state water and water resource issues will be the cornerstone of future efforts. As a complement to the state's regulatory and information intensive campaigns, a community based social marketing approach will be implemented to help water providers identify customer barriers and benefits to being successful at meeting their water conservation goals. Through a comprehensive water conservation survey of Colorado citizens scheduled to be conducted in 2007-2008, the state hopes to gain a better understanding of Colorado citizen perceptions of water, its availability/scarcity, and its value. These findings will provide the state guidance in its development of a regional and statewide messaging campaign. Efforts to create and promulgate a consistent regional message of the value of Colorado's water resources will go a long way to creating a water conservation savvy citizenry, supporting their water providers efforts to utilize water conservation strategies to maximize their system water supplies. Helping to create customer and political support for water conservation at the customer level will enable water providers, who are currently struggling to implement more advanced levels of conservation, to succeed in doing so. The OWCD will also continue its efforts to meet the need for improved water conservation measures and programs, as well as measurement techniques to determine the social and cost- effectiveness of these tools. Projects aimed at FINAL DRAFT 2-21