PROJ01959 ‎(2)‎

• Contract/PO #: C150131A
• Contractor Name: Paonia, Town of
• Contract Type: Loan
• Water District: 0
• Loan Projects - Doc Type: Feasibility Study

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Feasibility Report for Improvement ofPaonia's Water Supply System
Town of Paonia
April 21, 2000

4. WATER DEMAND PROJECTIONS

4.1 Existing Demands

Description of Service Area

Paonia's wtrter system service area includes all the incorporated lands within the Town and a
considerable amount ofland outside the Town boundaries. In some cases, customers outside the
Town are served directly through individual meters. In other cases, they are served by private
pipeline companies that receive their water supply from the Town through master meter
arrangements. Figure 4.l depicts the service area of the Paonia Water System.

Existing Water Supply Demands

BBC Research & Consulting (BBC) prepared the water demand projections for this study. BBC
examined 1999 economic and demographic conditions in the water service area. Census data
and information compiled by the Colorado Division of Local Governments were also reviewed
by BBC. Key findings from this research are: ~ 'r'
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Town population (1999) 1,750 .(.(:J r c.. "'(~t ·
Water service area population (1999) = 2,825
Town households (1999) = 730
Water service area households (1999) = 1,130
Age and gender distribution in Paonia is very similar to Delta County overall.
There is a smaller proportion of very low and very high income households in
Paonia than the rest of the county.
Compared to Delta County as a whole, mining employs a much larger share of
Paonia residents (23 percent) and agriculture employs a much smaller share of
Town residents (3 percent).

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While portions of the Town water system have been metered for many years, the downtown
business district has only been fully metered since the beginning of 1998. To evaluate current
metered water demands, BBC reviewed monthly billing records for 1998 and 1999. The
analysis ofthe billing records was compared with treated water production data from the Town's
two treatment plants. The difference between metered demand (or demand at the tap) and total
production is termed unaccounted water. Unaccounted water may include leaks, water use for
fire fighting, and other unmetered water usage.

As shown on Figure 4.2, the estimated 1999 annual metered water demand for the water system
is approximately 127 million gallons, or about390 acre-feet per year. Monthly wate:r demands

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