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City of Rifle Water Conservation Plan <br />Final Report -July 2008 <br />Water-efficient landscape and irri atg ion system brochures (in `Top 17 <br />The purchase of brochures to provide interested consumers with more information about <br />outdoor water use efficiency measures will be pursued. The information will be placed at <br />local retail suppliers of landscaping and irrigation products as well as displayed at City <br />facilities. This will provide interested citizens with more tools to help them reduce peak <br />summer water use and associated water bills. <br />Provide conservation tips on water bills (in `Top 17 <br />The City's billing system allows for the inclusion of short water conservation tips. The <br />City would also like to include historical use information specific to the customer, <br />however it is still unknown whether or not that the City's system has that capability. The <br />two types of educational messages are powerful when presented with the invoice and <br />implementation has a favorable benefit/cost ratio. <br />Website-specific tools for water conservation (not selected) <br />Two specific tools proposed for the new water efficiency website are online water-use <br />surveys to identify and quantify conservation potential and instructions for in-home leak <br />detection simply by tracking water meter readings. Both are considered feasible, but are <br />not considered to be ahigh-priority at this time. <br />Regulatory <br />Create and enforce a new `water waste' ordinance (in `Top 17 <br />The City should create and enforce a new ordinance that prohibits the `wasting' of water. <br />The ordinance would define specific actions that qualify as violations subject to issuance <br />of warnings, fines, and/or water service termination. The program goal is to emphasize <br />the value of water to the community as well as to reduce demands, especially peak <br />demand. Since outdoor water use is not only the most visible and easily policed, it also <br />contributes the most to peak day demand, and should be a primary focus of the ordinance. <br />Establish landscapin _ ag nd irri _ ate ion system design requirements for new development (in <br />`To 17' <br />With the projected growth in the City of Rifle, new irrigated landscapes represent a <br />significant source of future peak water use. Adopting and enforcing design requirements <br />for irrigation systems and landscape design/installation practices has the potential to <br />significantly reduce outdoor water use in an aril climate. It is envisioned that new <br />regulations would incorporate some of Dr. Curtis Swift's (CSU Extension) suggested <br />`Landscape Specifications' into the Municipal Code. <br />Establish high-efficiency indoor fixture requirements for new development (in `Top 17'~ <br />Although reducing indoor water in new development will not significantly reduce peak <br />summer water demand in the short-term, it adds up over the long-term if significant <br />growth is projected, as is the case in Rifle. Establishing high-efficiency plumbing <br />fixtures, including toilets, clothes washers, dishwashers, showerheads, and bathroom <br />faucets to be installed in new development is a lower implementation cost means to <br />improve indoor water use efficiency in the community. It is envisioned that the City's <br />new regulations would reference the USEPA Water Sense Program product listings, <br />and/or similar sources for approved fixtures/devices and be incorporated into the <br />Municipal Code. <br />SGM # 99055A-388 30 Conservation Measures and Programs <br />