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<br />COLORADO SPRINGS UTILITIES' 2008-2012 WATER CONSERVATION PLAN <br /> <br />INTRODUCTION <br /> <br />The Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) through the Office of Water Conservation <br />and Drought Planning requires that water providers with total demand of2,000 acre-feet or more <br />develop and implement plans that encourage customers to use water efficiently. This <br />requirement was first established through the Water Conservation Act of 1991. In compliance <br />with the Act, Springs Utilities submitted a Water Conservation Plan to the State of Colorado that <br />was reviewed and accepted on March 23, 1998. <br /> <br />Around the same time, Springs Utilities was developing an integrated resource plan, commonly <br />referred to as the 1996 Water Resource Plan. Development of the 1996 Water Resource Plan <br />was a multi-year process, incorporating technical reports from 1989 through 1996. The 1996 <br />Water Resource Plan identified four components for future development - a major raw water <br />delivery system, existing system improvements, nonpotable water development and additional <br />conservation. Conservation is the focus of this 2008-2012 Water Conservation Plan. <br /> <br />One of the core values expressed during the 1996 Water Resource Plan public process was the <br />importance of conservation. As a result, a Citizens Water Conservation Committee was formed <br />to help refine Springs Utilities' water conservation programs. Ultimately, the committee helped <br />Springs Utilities develop the 1999-2004 Water Conservation Master Plan. <br /> <br />The 1999-2004 Water Conservation Master Plan described existing programs and identified six <br />programs for future expansion - evapotranspiration irrigation guidelines, landscape ordinance for <br />commercial landscapes, large commercial landscape audits, retrofit of public buildings and <br />landscapes, rate structures that encourage conservation, and a rain sensor program. <br /> <br />When the drought strucl( in 2002, efforts to implement many of the programs identified in the <br />1999-2004 Water Conservation Master Plan were halted due to the immediate need for <br />mandatory water restrictions. Simultaneously, new programs were introduced that were not <br />previously identified in the 1999-2004 Water Conservation Master Plan. <br /> <br />During the 2004 legislative session, the State of Colorado revised the minimum requirements of <br />the Water Conservation Act of 1991. In March 2006, Springs Utilities was notified by the <br />CWCB that Springs Utilities' plan was in need of revision to ensure compliance with the Water <br />Conservation Act of 2004 and to include the following new plan elements: <br /> <br />. The steps the covered entity used to develop, and will use to implement, <br />monitor, review and revise its water conservation plan; <br /> <br />. The time period, not to exceed seven years, after which the covered entity will <br />review and update its adopted plan; <br /> <br />. Either as a percentage or in acre-foot increments, an estimate of the amount of <br />water that has been saved through a previously implemented conservation <br />plan and an estimate of the amount of water that will be saved through <br />conservation when the plan is implemented. <br /> <br />9 <br />