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City of Rifle Water Conservation Plan <br />Final Report -July 2008 <br />Allow recycled water where appropriate not selected <br />Because the City's water rights due not allow for sequential uses of water or significant <br />utilization to extinction, recycling water is currently not a viable option. <br />Require water use audits not selected <br />Water audits can be an effective tool to educate the public about efficient water use and <br />achieve immediate water demand reductions, especially when coupled with give-aways <br />or rebates for water-efficient fixtures/systems. However, conducting many water audits <br />requires significant internal resources and/or ample budget to hire qualified water audit <br />contractors. This program was deemed unmanageable for the City at the current time. <br />As the City grows, and as the pool of locally-based water efficiency auditors grows, the <br />City may wish to reconsider a larger auditing program. <br />Require limited watering times (not selected <br />This program is very popular in other areas, however new research is indicating that <br />restricting watering times does not always lead to more efficient water use, and therefore, <br />it was not selected. <br />Drought-specific guidelines (not selected) <br />Rifle Municipal Code already gives both the City Council and the City Manager <br />the power to implement water use restrictions in drought conditions. Therefore, <br />this is not considered a new measurelprogram. <br />Other <br />Partner with other stakeholders to promote water conservation (included in others <br />Several of the measures and programs included in this plan involve partnering, including <br />development of a Water Conservation Taskforce and working with local irrigation system <br />suppliers and landscaping professionals to conduct annual workshops and make <br />conservation information available to the public. <br />Use DOLA assistance for rate structure and billing methods development (not selected <br />State statute requires that this plan consider the inclusion of DOLA technical assistance <br />to help the City implement tiered rate structures and a water billing system that shows <br />customer water usage. The City already has the in-house systems and resources for these. <br />Removal of phreatophytes <br />Phreatophytes are water-loving plants that reduce available raw water supply through <br />excessive evapotranspiration rates and water consumption. Phreatophyte removal does <br />not help the City reduce peak summer potable system water demands, nor is the program <br />expected to be economical for the City to undertake, therefore it has not be selected. <br />SGM # 99055A-388 31 Conservation Measures and Programs <br />