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Water Conservation Planning Services <br />City of Boulder: Water Conservation Futures Study, Drought Plan, Water Conservation Monitoring <br />Client Contact: Carol Ellinghouse <br />email: EllinghouseC(p~bauldercolorado.gav <br />phone: 303-441-3118 <br />From 1998-1999, Hydrosphere was the lead consultant for a study that characterized Boulder's water <br />use patterns; updated Boulder's water demand projections; and reassessed the reliability of Boulder's <br />water supply system given this new information. We developed appropriate water conservation <br />program alternatives given Boulder's water use patterns, reliability criteria, and other water-related <br />goals (e.g., instream flow preservation); evaluated those alternatives considering water savings, utility <br />benefit/costs and revenue effects, customer cost effects and non-cost/public values factors; and made <br />recommendations to the City. <br />From 2001-2003, Hydrosphere was the lead consultant, inclose partnership with Utilities staff, for <br />developing a guidance document for recognizing droughts that will affect Boulder's water supply and for <br />responding suitably to those droughts. We developed summary information on Boulder's water <br />supplies, categorized drought levels according to severity, developed detailed information on particular <br />actions that might be taken to respond to each drought alert level. We conducted detailed analyses of <br />the potential effects of previous and recent droughts upon Boulder's water supply system, including the <br />CBT project system. While the Drought Plan was being developed, Hydrosphere helped Boulder in its <br />early recognition of, and effective response to, the 2002 drought. By late April, we accurately <br />forecasted Boulder's water yields for 2002 and developed water use reduction targets for the upcoming <br />year. We developed a suite of demand reduction measures tailored to those targets and an effective <br />communication program to ensure their attainment. I n 1990 and from 1992-1993, Hydrosphere <br />estimated the demand-reducing effects and revenue effects of proposed changes to Boulder's water <br />rate structure. We utilized Boulder's water billing database to evaluate the effects of proposed changes <br />to the City's water rate structure upon owner-occupied single-family residential customers. This was <br />accomplished by applying a water demand elasticity equation to the previous year's water use patterns <br />of approximately 1,000 randomly selected residential customers under existing and proposed water rate <br />structures. In a separate study, Hydrosphere evaluated the effects of Boulder's existing water <br />conservation programs on average and peak demands using a time series "cascade" analysis of <br />historical daily treated water production data as the dependent variable and daily weather data, <br />demographic data, and customer account data as the independent variables. We also developed a <br />water user survey that was sent out to utility customers to assess the extent of customer participation in <br />water conservation measures. <br />Socorro-Sierra Regional Water Conservation Plan, NM <br />Client Contact: Jahn Carangelo, Soccoro Soil & Water Conservation District <br />email:mar'on flash.net <br />phone: 505-864-5904 <br />Hydrosphere was contracted by the Socorro Soil & Water Conservation District (teamed with DB <br />Stephens & Associates) to provide project management and technical analyses for the Socorro-Sierra <br />regional water planning effort in central New Mexico. The Socorro-Sierra region is primarily rural with a <br />few incorporated municipalities. Most municipal, industrial, and domestic water use is provided from <br />groundwater supplies while irrigated farmland is generally supplied by surface water diversions. <br />Page 3 <br />L T ~ ~ ~~ ~ ~ ~ i~l <br />k4:~~slir~,~. ~'tda~x~cl~dai~l~ <br />